Konoha's Beautiful Lotus
by Supernatural Crossover Girl
Summary: Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**BETA: Darkpetal16**

* * *

"I'll see you girls later!" called my mother as I carried my daughter out of her house and towards my car. I turned and waved goodbye, a smile on my face. Maya lazily waved goodbye as well, over my shoulder. She was eleven, but she loved being carried, so I indulged her every once in a while.

"You're so lazy," I teased her as I opened the back car door and sat her down. She yawned and began to do up her seat belt.

"Granny is so troublesome," she told me, yawning. I rolled my eyes. Ever since her uncle showed her that manga/anime thingy, she was always saying stuff like that.

"You like Granny when she's troublesome," I told her, as I put my purse down beside her. Maya just grumbled and cuddled with some toy I had in the back. Oh, what a surprise, a nine-tailed fox plushie. I closed the door and moved towards the front. After getting in, I started the car and began the drive home. Maya was awoken a few times on the drive, thanks to my damn engine that made more noise than a rocket.

"Was your boss mean again?" I gave a nod, rubbing my eyes slightly. I should stop taking so many shifts, between them and my online courses, I was being run ragged. "Was Sam there?"

"Still have a crush on him?" I teased my daughter, looking up at her in the rearview mirror. She blushed, making me grin even more. She was so fun to tease.

"Shut up," she grumbled, turning to look out the window as we crossed a stretch of highway. It was late so it was very busy, but I felt uneasy. I had heard from Tanya, who had a teenaged son, that some big exam was done. In my experience, that meant booze. And lots of it.

"Mommy, is Daddy going to come and see me soon?"

_Shiiiiit_… I normally don't talk about Micheal with her. He, after all, was the asshole who cheated on me, and more or less abandoned us. I took a breath and was about to try to explain it to her, nicely, when I saw it.. A car was driving on the other side of the road, and it hit a wet spot. It began to swerve. It was heading for us. There was no time. If I slammed on the breaks or swerved, I would lose control of the vehicle. I did the only thing I could. I yanked off my belt, turned and dove into the back, covering Maya with my body as the collision began.

"_Mommy!_"

0-0

That's how I died, trying to protect my daughter. I don't know if she survived or not, but what I _do_ know is that Kelly Johnson, twenty-seven-year-old single mother, waitress and university student, died on June 5th, at 8:35 pm, on some road in the Yukon.

On June 5th, 8:36 pm, in Konohagakure, Rock Kyoko was born. I was reborn as an infant. With all of my memories, including the last thing I saw. My daughter. So you can guess why I screamed my head off even after being handed to my brand new mother. I wanted to know if Maya was alright.

I still don't know. God, I want to know, but I make do. It hurts like hell, not knowing but, I'm pretty sure she's safe. I was the one who took the full brunt of the crash so she should be fine, physically at least. But that was in the past now. I had more pressing things to worry about.

Like the fact I was in Maya's favorite manga/anime thingy for instance. I knew the basic stuff, mosly because she often made me watch the anime with her. Blonde kid, Naruto, was the hero of the story, had a demon or something sealed inside of him, everyone hated him for it. Made friends, had one of them, Sas-something go batshit after some snake guy did something to him. Then, a bunch of criminals come after all of the demon holders for most of the plot line. I really paid attention only to the fights, which were awesome. After the initial shock had worn off, I was more or less concerned over the timeline. I didn't know much, but I knew enough to know some serious shit was going to go down. But, I was an unknown.

Rock Lee had been one of Maya's favorites, right next to Nara Shikamaru. To Maya, Lee was so cool because he worked hard to be a ninja even without ninjutsu or genjutsu. Shikamaru was cool cause he was lazy. It was kinda funny, really. I knew, from her, that Lee had no siblings. I was a hiccup in this world. And frankly, I kind of liked it.

I missed Maya and my mom, I'll always miss them, but, I was in a new life. Rock Kyoko wasn't me. She was just... a blank slate. I could do anything I wanted. I had always looked on my life, with regrets, though Maya had never been a mistake I regretted, but I was older, smarter now. I could make my life work. That was the only thought line that kept me from feeling too horrendous about this whole ordeal. I was excited for my chance.

Then, four months later, after settling in my new home, it happened. Kyūbi. God, that chakra still gave me nightmares. I was crying the entire time, and Lee was no better. However, from what I remember, he was very protective of me, and ran with me, despite the fact he was a year old, to the safe house, while our parents, both ninja, helped the evacuation.

Neither made it, and we were sent to an orphanage. It was from this that I realized something.

This may be a new chance, but this wasn't going to be fun or easy. This was going to be the toughest thing I had ever done, just _surviving_ in this world.

I never felt so homesick before.

* * *

**A/N:** And it's a wrap. 8D

Okay, let me explain Kyoko a bit:

She's a mother who, while she loves her daughter, did put her life on hold for her. She was only 16 when she got pregnant, so while she does love Maya, she was exited to actually get to redo her life. Anyone would be.

As for not really getting what she is in fact really getting into, she didn't really know the story. She knew the basic crap, but that was it. She didn't know the real scope of it. Loosing her new parents kinda shocked her into realizing what was going on. She gets it, now anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**BETA: Darkpetal16**

* * *

The months I spent in my first year were boring. Due to my inability to understand more than a few words I learned from Maya, I was lost in a world of gibberish. That was, until my brain managed to pick up on their hybrid-version of Japanese. It took a while, but I was a baby, and despite having the memories of an adult, my brain was still just an infant's brain. It was still growing and developing so it was easier to develop a better grasp on this world.

Lee had refused to let me be touched by any of the matrons, insisting he took care of me himself. He was so young, but he wanted to take care of me. I knew that feeling. In my old life, when Mom was on tour and after dad died, I had refused to let anyone touch my siblings. I took care of them. It was _my_ job as the oldest. They were _my_ siblings and I had to take complete responsibility for them. Or so that's what I felt.

This time though, the roles were reversed. It was kind of nice, but also kind of annoying. I had been an independent woman with a child, and now, I was an infant in constant need for help. It was hard, adjusting to having to be fed and washed and dressed by someone when I was so used to doing it by myself.

And don't even get me started on diapers. I wish I could burn that memory. I was glad when I learned how to use the toilet again. It was a relief to be able to never have to rely on someone for something like that again.

Lee was the one who taught me everything (although the matrons helped as well, mostly with toilet training). Lee was the one who taught me how to crawl and later on how to walk. He was always there to help me. I fell a lot, but he always just gave me a kiss on my forehead and told me everything would be alright. When I succeeded, he gave me a big hug and said, 'That's my precious imouto!'while he swung me around and laughed. Even at such a young age, he was like a little rocket, always exclaiming things and running around like crazy. However, I was just as crazy as Lee when it came to running around and playing. I'm pretty sure we drove the matrons mad with our ways. Lee and I were impossible to keep still, the two of us were everywhere all at once. It was so much fun! I never seemed to run out of energy, _ever_. Even after I learned to talk, the others were hard-pressed to keep up with me. Lee could though, because he was the same way as me. We would run all over the orphanage, never stopping and we would giggle the entire time.

Lee was also the one who taught me how to talk, mostly by pointing at objects and naming them. He really wanted me to talk, so when I said to him, one day, 'Aniki!' he freaked. He raved and cheered, exclaiming I was brilliant and amazing. He then began to try and teach me other words, such as 'yosh!' which he had already started to say quite frequently recently.

As the two of us grew, I fully began to realize that this was no game, my new life. This world was strange to me, and it was always shocking, the dramatic difference between my old world and the new one.

When Lee was three, he began to receive a small allowance from the orphanage. It had me flabbergasted. You wouldn't give a three year old an allowance, not in my world at least. It just... wasn't done. But here, this was the _norm_. It was okay for him to have an allowance. _He was old enough_. It scared me, how much responsibility they placed on kids at such a young age.

It scared me more when we heard of the Uchiha prodigy, Itachi. I dimly remembered Maya saying something about him, but it was foggy. What scared me was how young he was, when he became a shinobi. It was horrifying to discover that it was accepted and _expected_ of children to learn how to kill and—more importantly be _good at it_—before even reaching the preteen age.

Another thing that repulsed me was how _obvious_ it was that the matron's at our orphanage pushed us to become shinobi. They always told us stories about brave shinobi who saved the world, and spoke of what an _honor_ and _privilege _it was to serve the village. Even the people outside the orphanage always spoke with awe about the shinobi that were trained in the village.

The entire thing reminded me of what the Germans did in the years before WWII. Complete and utter brainwashing. Training the group follow the leaders' ideas like sheep . In grade ten, before I dropped out, I had written a report on tactics they had used, such as telling the young that it was their duty and their honor to serve their home and country by joining the military. It was quite similar here, in how they did it. Training us so earlier to become like sheep.

It was scary, but it worked. I wanted to be a shinobi so bad. I couldn't wait 'till I started the academy. But I still felt wary from the way they influenced us. It was an unsettling thing; to think the 'good guys' used tactics similar to 'bad guys'.

When Lee turned six, he was given his own apartment, which we moved into right away, in order to start the academy. He was overjoyed, and promised to teach me what I needed to know about being a shinobi early so I could be _super awesome_ in my year. I was happy for him, until I discovered something else. With Lee gone, it was an utter bore around the apartment. I hadn't many friends in the orphanage, as Lee had been considered a freak, and I had been considered weird as his sister, so I was alone... and bored. After walling in boredom for about an hour, I decided to go to the park, in hopes of something interesting at least happening.

I spotted some girls about my age, and went over to talk to them. As soon as they saw me, they had the weirdest faces. They just stared at me with a look of disgust, repulsion and mild curiosity. I didn't understand what they were staring at. While I looked quite similar to Lee, I hadn't gotten his eyebrows (thank God) so they couldn't be staring at that. It wasn't until I was right up to them that I found out why they were staring so strangely.

"What's with your clothes? They look like boy clothes," said a nameless brown haired girl. I looked down at my outfit and shrugged. I normally wore Lee's old clothes because it was cheaper to use his old clothes than get new ones. Besides, I liked how they looked.

"They are," I answered, simply. The girl crinkled her nose in plain disgust in response. I frowned, when she ran off and told the others, who all gave me strange looks as well. From this, I sighed, realizing that they thought I was some weird girl because I wore boy clothes... I had forgotten how silly and immature girls could be at this age. I wandered over to some tree, bouncing around a bit as I did so, when I noticed a bug on it. I leaned forward and looked at it, my interest captured. I had always liked bugs, even as a kid. Before (and after) Maya, I had wanted to be an entomologist. Before I died, I had even started to take the university courses online. I knelt and examined it. It looked quite cool to me.

"You aren't like most girls," stated a quiet voice behind me. I looked behind me to see a little boy, about my age, with sunglasses and a large jacket on. "Most would run and scream or try and squish it."

I gave him a glare. I didn't like being pulled into a stereotype. I had been judged one too many times in my past life and found that I very much disliked it. I prefer to wait and judge and expect (and hope) the same for others.

"I'm not like most girls then. Bugs are fascinating to me," I said, placing my hands on my hips, glaring at him. He seemed amused at my obvious irritation.

"It's a Rhinoceros beetle," the boy pointed out. I turned and looked at the bug and after a moment or two, I nodded in my head in agreement. It did like a little like a rhino with the large horn on its face. "What is your name?"

"Rock Kyoko!" I exclaimed, jumping up and pumping a fist into the air out of habit. The boy appeared slightly taken back, from what I could read with his glasses and jacket. I could assume he anticipated a more quiet response from me.

"Aburame Shino," the boy—Shino—replied after he recovered. He offered his hand and I shook it without hesitation.

For the rest of the morning we spent our time hunting and discussing various bugs. It was probably a little odd to some of the other kids, but we ignored them and ultimately they ignored us. It was fun, though Shino seemed a little strained by my energy and random exclamations.

When I went home, I informed Lee of my day. He was ecstatic that I had made a friend, and told me to keep at it, and that I would soon be _ultra cool_, like him.

As more time passed, Shino and I became quite close, though we were never as close as Lee and I. Shino was a great friend, and I tried hard to be, at least, a good friend back. When he described to me some of his clan techniques, I accepted him and them. It was odd, knowing bugs lived inside of him, but I had worked in a restaurant near what I called the 'Tourist Street'. I was used to odd things (though his oddness went on a whole other level, now that I think about it).

My inner bug nerd found it fascinating. Did he feel the bugs move? Did they make little hives in his chakra system? Did they lay their eggs inside him? How smart were they? How strong were they as weapons?

Shino was startled by all my questions and my genuine fascination, as was Shibi, his father, when I asked him. They had never had someone accept them so quickly. A little sad, I thought, as they weren't bad people they just had a unique technique. In the end when we told Lee, he had been shocked as well, but he accepted them. Soon enough afterwards, it was common to see us at the Aburame compound, either having supper there, because Lee couldn't cook and I was too young to use the stove, or just playing with the kids. Most of the time I ended up talking up a storm with the adults though, learning all I could about their clan bugs and techniques.

Lee found my fascination entertaining, and promised to buy me an ant farm for my birthday. Shino said he would help with that as well. I was stoked and gave Lee a 'dynamic hug' (a flying hug), causing him to crash into the ground. I then gave Shino the same treatment, making him yelp with indignation. Reactions that amused me to no end.

I think I had more fun in this life than I did in my first as a child. I actually could act like an immature child, and not a mini adult when Mom was serving in the army as a nurse. I didn't have to be responsible to anyone other than myself this time around. I knew that the fun times would end as soon as I went to the academy, but I didn't care. I was having fun. I actually almost forgot what was going to happen in the future until...

A few days after my sixth birthday, which I spent studying the ants in my farm, Lee came home after school completely ecstatic. He told me that the next day his class was going to activate their chakra. He was bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm, but I had a feeling in the back of my head that something wasn't right. It was at dinner that I remembered, causing me to choke on my food. We were eating at home for once, so it was only Lee there, and he freaked, pounding me on my back frantically with no restrained effort. I told him I was fine, but the truth was I wasn't. I felt sick to my stomach, remembering that Lee couldn't use chakra. He couldn't use it at all.

I went to bed early, complaining of a stomach ache, not really wanting to look into Lee's eyes right then. I found my dreams restless that night, and it was hard to get out of bed to do our morning ritual (I would braid Lee's hair and then he would braid my twin braids into my hair, before he left for school). It was a little tradition we started when he first joined the academy. It seemed silly, but at the same time I couldn't bring myself _not_ to do it.

When Lee left, I moped around the apartment until Shino came. When he asked what was wrong, I told him I didn't know and that I was just nervous for some reason.

"Lee is getting his chakra activated today you said, maybe you are just worried about him getting hurt," he had guessed. I had only just nodded in mute agreement, unable to bring myself to inform him just how worried I was of how _right_ Shino's guess was.

When Lee came to get us from the park, his shoulders were slumped and he refused to meet our eyes. It was clear that he was upset but I was too hesitant to press him further. Shino ended up biding us goodbye and headed home, leaving us to walk home alone. The walk was in silence, excruciatingly so. Unexplainable and obligational guilt gnawed away at me from my stomach.

It was only at dinner, did Lee break the silence.

"I can't use chakra. My pathways don't work."

I stood up from my chair, moving quickly by his side and pulling him into a tight hug. Not even bother to hide it anymore, he allowed a few tears to escape his eyes. Then taking a stifling gasp-sob, more poured out. "I was so happy to be a shinobi, and everyone just gave me these pitying looks and sensei said I—said I—I should… drop out."

He fell silent again and I hugged him tighter. In a quiet voice I asked, "Are you going to Aniki?"

He looked at me and bit his lip. "I don't know."

_I don't know_. That was his only answer for weeks.

Lee still went to the academy, and I played with Shino, but there was a dark cloud looming over him and by extension, me as well. Would Lee drop out? In the original storyline, he hadn't. I remembered that much, but I heard him wondering out loud if he dropped out then maybe he could support me if I became a shinobi by getting a job. I hoped he wouldn't do it for me. I wasn't even supposed to _be _here. The thought of me being the cause of my brother's unhappiness and obstacle to his goal—his dream (because I _knew_ he would make an amazing shinobi) was nearly unbearable. But I couldn't really argue too much without being hypocritical. I had, after all, done the same thing for Maya.

But that didn't stop me from feeling the way I felt. I didn't like Lee like this. I hated him being unhappy for even a second and it pained me to know that I could be the reason he _stayed_ unhappy. I didn't like the situation. I didn't like it at all.

"Dork-Lee!" was called out at the end of the week as I passed by the academy on my way to the park.

I turned at the sound only to see a group of kids teasing my brother, who in turn, looked upset. Anger flared through me at the sight and I had to clench my fist to keep form lashing out. The same kid who called out the degrading nickname sneered at Lee. "You're such a loser."

Just as I was about to introduce the bully to my fist, I was spotted.

"Hey, look, it's his sister," said one of the kids, pointing at me. They laughed as Lee turned to find me glaring at all of them. His face screwed up even more so in realization that I had seen this.

"Wow, I almost feel bad for you. _Almost. _A shame your sister's here to see exactly how much of a loser you are, freak."

"Yeah, freak!"

"Dork!"

Laughter came from the group, awful, horrendous laughter that had _my brother_ cringing and flinching. My fury doubled as all I saw was red.

"MY BROTHER IS BETTER THEN ALL OF YOU! HE'S GONNA BE THE BEST SHINOBI EVER, EVEN WITHOUT CHAKRA!" I screeched at them, using all my willpower not to rush over to them and show them how horrendous _I_ could be when I wanted to.

Lee stared at me with wide, wide, eyes that watered for a moment before he blinked and cleared the oncoming tears away. His face lost the hurt look, taking on a determined one as he took on a familiar stance.

"I will be!" he exclaimed. "Even if I have to train until my feet bleed!"

He stormed away from the group, who only stared in shock at both mine, and my brother's declaration. With a firm nod to me he moved towards the academy training grounds and wasted no time in starting a round of pushups. I had to smile at that, my anger fading away to satisfaction that my brother found his resolve.

Lee was going to be just fine. He was going to be the best shinobi ever.

When he came home that day, he hugged me tight and said, "Thanks."

Aside from that, those weeks of depression were never mentioned again and he reverted back to his normal nature of being my spazzy brother. When we played at the park, and he told me all about taijutsu practice and how he planned on excelling in that area. Afterwards we ate with Shino at the compound and the little bug boy was quite pleased to find Lee back the way he was meant to be.

Later that night, while in bed, a thought floated through my mind that prevented me from receiving any sleep that night.

_Would I be unable to use chakra like Lee?_

* * *

**A/N:** And, done! I went through eight versions of this chapter. Sorry about how short it is. I kinda just wanted to cover this little part of her life, before I really get into it. The next chapter is going to be a dozy.

Alright, explanation time:

Shino was picked to be the BFF of Kyoko because he's awesome, and I wanted to be original. To many people use Naruto as their SI's BFF. I considered all of the kids in Kyoko's age group, but I decided Shino was the best, because he's an interesting character, and I don't think many others would respond well to Kyoko's hyperactive nature... maybe Kiba, but I didn't really like that idea. They were to similar.

Tidbit: Kyoko was originaly drafted as Shino's twin, but in the end she ended up as Lee's sister, cause Lee needs more love.

I feel I shoul explain Lee's uncertainty over being a ninja with almost no chakra:

Lee was UNSURE about being a ninja in this AU because he had a sister to raise. So he wasn't sure if it was the best idea. However, due to his sisters encouragement, he decided on staying in the academy.

I hope you liked this chapter! Please Review and give me ideas!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**PICTURE OF KYOKO IS UP! GO LOOK AT MY PROFILE FOR LINK!**

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

You can only listen to the sound of flesh hitting wood for so long before you go mad. I had recently learned that, during the summer break before I joined the academy. I had found it odd they had a break, but then I heard that some teacher went nuts and killed five people after dealing with kids so long, so I guess it made sense. Give the teachers a break and all. Lee was obsessed with getting stronger that summer, so he was constantly training (when _wasn't_ he training, now that I think about it…?). When I wasn't hanging out with Shino, I watched him practice, cheering him on, but sometimes, Lee just drove me crazy with his training.

"Lee, you're gonna hurt yourself," I told him as I sat to the side, watching him train by beating the crap out of a log. It was dented and I was pretty sure he would end up breaking it in half soon.

"I need to finish my thousand punches. If I do not finish them, then it is two thousand kicks!" he proclaimed. I sighed, and shook my head. "I have to get stronger! I have to prove even without ninjutsu or genjutsu I can still be a ninja!" I understood where he was coming from, but he had been out training for _hours_ already.

"Lee you're seven. You're gonna kill yourself if you don't slow down." I pointed out. Lee ignored me as he trained, so I didn't. I stood and walked over to another log in the area, looking at it. It had odd marks on it, as if someone whacked it with a stick. I tilted my head and studied it a bit more, before I got bored. "Lee, can we go soon?"

"Three hundred more. Why don't you train some Kyoko?" Lee suggested. I sighed, but complied, going into a simple stance Lee taught me. I punched the log with as much force as I dared, and winced, feeling my hands protest. I wasn't use to it.

"Keep your thumbs out of your fist Kyoko," corrected Lee, looking over at me. I corrected my stance, and found while it still stung, it wasn't as bad as the first time. I punched the log until Lee was done his punches. When I glanced back over to see how quickly and efficient Lee was orchestrating _his _punches, I felt laughably pathetic.

"I'm weak compared to you," I complained to Lee as we walked home. He glanced at me, looking nervous,

"You're younger and a girl," Lee said a bit hesitant, as if unsure of how I would take this explaination.

I growled, and jumped, tackling him to the ground. I began to tickle him, not wanting to hurt him, but wanting him to know that that answer was a displeasing one. He was too tired to fight me off.

"Kyoko! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" He yelled, trying to get away from me. I still scowled, but stopped my attack.

"What did you mean?" I demanded, remaining where I was. He looked up at me and shrugged.

"Girls aren't as strong as boys, 'cause boys are larger and broader than most girls," Lee pointed out. I scowled even more at him. He looked at me helplessly. "The sensei said this to us, when a girl named Tenten asked when were the girls going to spar with the boys. Only the top kunoichi is allowed to spar with the boys. He said it was to protect the girls because they weren't-"

"That's _not_ true. I'm gonna train until I'm just as strong as any boy, and then I'll train even more until I'm stronger than them all! THIS IS MY OATH!" I roared, jumping off of him and doing a pose, my hand raised in the air, my face set in determination. "I, Rock Kyoko, will be stronger than any boy in the village!"

Lee grinned, and jumped up next to me. "And I'll help you get as strong as possible!" he swore, throwing his arm around my shoulders, and raising his own fist. I grinned, and hugged him around the waist, liking his promise. I knew He would never leave me alone. He would always be there for me.

Always.

-0-

A few weeks later, I learned that waking up to your older brother jumping on your bed is not fun, at all. In fact, it's painful and annoying.

Try telling Lee that though.

"Come on imouto!" Lee said, trying to get me out of bed. I groggily sat up, glaring. I had been up the majority of the night before, too excited over the fact- "Today's your first day at the academy!"

I squealed, grogginess and irritation completely forgotten before jumping out of bed. I pushed Lee out of my room and got dressed quickly. I ran out of my room, and found Lee waiting with a hairbrush in hand. I took it from his hands and brushed his hair carefully, before I braided it. He returned the favor, giving me a gentle yank on my twin braids.

"Let's hurry Lee!" I said as he made me sit down to eat.

"Kyoko, I am excited for your first day as well, but you must eat to gain nutrients!" scolded Lee. I pouted, but ate quickly, of course. Lee put the dishes away and I began to drag him out of our home.

"Let's go get Shino!" I cheered happily. Lee laughed, and then the two of us ended up racing each other to the compound, where Shino and Shibi waited. Lee won, due to his longer legs. I had to carry his bag and mine. Shino shook his head as I did so.

"Why do you do such ludicrous punishments?" he asked. I gave him a big grin.

"To get stronger!"

"Yosh!" shouted Lee in agreement. Shibi was amused by our antics, and Shino probably just chalked it up as a Rock Sibling thing.

When we got to the academy, Shino and I went to an introduction ceremony. I found it boring, but Lee got permission to skip class so he could be there for me, so I made myself listen. An odd thought struck me during the ceremony, why did I think it was boring? I had sat through dozens of these with Maya when she was in 4H. I mulled the thought over until the Hokage was done his speech about how we were to be the future of the village. After he left, Lee went to his class and the new students were split up and put into classrooms. Luckily I ended up with Shino in my class. However, one kid stood out, due to the uneasy looks the parents kept giving him.

"...Uzumaki Naruto..." I may have never paid that much attention to the anime, which I regret now, but I do know Uzumaki Naruto. As I looked at him, I felt like hurting (mainly punching) the people who called him a demon. It was probably just left over maternal instincts, but looking at Naruto, all I could see was a little boy who needed a hug and a kind word.

It hurt. It hurt as bad as when Maya came home crying as a little girl because the boys were mean to her.

I managed to get close to him, while we walked, Shino not far behind me.

"Hi, I'm Rock Kyoko!" I said, offering my hand. Naruto stared at me in dumbfoundment, before he hesitantly shook my hand, as if he moved too suddenly I would fright and flee.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Shino chose then to introduce himself, not offering his hand, which I rolled my eyes at. He was so stiff if it wasn't with me or Lee.

"Are you excited to be a shinobi? I am! My brother is trying to become a shinobi and it's so cool-" I rambled on, bouncing on the balls of my feet as I talked. Naruto soon joined in once he was relaxed enough, proving to be just as hyper as me. Shino seemed amused by the two of us. I was glad I had gotten use to interpenetrating his body language. He could be hard to read if you didn't know him well enough.

When we got into the classroom, our sensei, Umino Iruka, told us to sit where we wanted. I dragged Shino, and Naruto over to a window seat. Naruto sat down with a huge grin. It pleased me.

Iruka-sensei talked to us about being a shinobi, and how we were to lay down our lives for the village. He then got us to introduce ourselves. When it came time for me I jumped out of my seat, and punched my arms into the air.

"YOSH! I am Rock Kyoko! My best friends are my brother and Shino, I love bugs, training with Lee, and I hope to become the strongest and toughest ninja in the village!" I exclaimed happily. Most people laughed at me, but all I did was grin. I would show them that I meant it. Naruto grinned at me and I grinned back.

Iruka kept us for a while longer, until he let us out for an hour long lunch. I promptly dragged Naruto and Shino over to where I saw Lee. I suddenly stopped and smirked, before making a motion for the boys to stop. I then began to creep around my brother, facing his back. My smirk grew when I realized he didn't notice me. I crouched, tensing my body and then I-

"GAH!" yelped Lee as soon as I landed on his back, my arms wrapping around his neck.

"Aniki!" I cried out happily as Shino led Naruto up to the two of us. Lee laughed, and turned me to face him, giving me a big hug.

"Hello imouto! How was your first class?"

"Fine, boring though. Iruka-sensei talked for like hours." I remarked, as Naruto nodded his agreement. "Oh, this is Uzumaki Naruto, my new friend!"

"Yosh!" Lee said, grinning at Naruto. "It is good to meet you!" he offered his hand and Naruto shook it, grinning even wider. As the four of us talked, minus Shino who just nodded every once in a while, I felt giddy. I was having so much fun in this new life. Now I knew why Maya was so obsessed with this anime thing.

At the thought of Maya I felt a twinge in my heart but I consoled myself in a firm voice. _It's been six years. Your baby is seventeen. She's moved on._ I took a breath, and continued the conversation, determined to put the past in the past, and look toward the future.

A future as a shinobi. A prospect that both thrilled and terrified me. I was frightened, yet I couldn't wait to learn all I could about being a shinobi.

Truthfully, I felt like I was sitting in front of my computer at home, about to begin my online courses.

-0-

"Wait, what?" was the only thing that came out of my mouth when we got our first tests back, a few weeks after the beginning of the school year. Iruka-sensei had just announced the top scorers for both girls and boys. I was disappointed when I learned that the sexism was super high in the academy. I did understand the point behind the 'kunoichi classes, which went on for an hour every day after lunch, I just didn't want to be an infiltrator. I wanted to be a front line fighter. But that was a males job in the world. "I'm the top kunoichi?"

"Hai Kyoko-chan," said Iruka amused by my disbelief. "You were able to understand all of the math problems and you cracked the code." I blinked at that, still in shock.

I had discovered that I had an advantage over my class mates. I had been a twenty-seven year old women who was working her way through a degree in entomology. I was more intellectually advanced than most if not all of them. Math was a breeze, history was just memorization, same as codes, and shinobi rules were memorization as well. The entire thing was easy for me.

"Who was Top Rookie?" asked a boy in the back. Uchiha Sasuke was his name, and I always had a nagging feeling I should know about him whenever I saw him, though I normally just chalked it up to something Maya had told me about the anime once that I hadn't really listened to. Wish I did, now. Sasuke was cheerful, and obviously had a close bond with his brother, like me and Lee.

"Rock Kyoko." I blinked again, my mouth hanging open, slightly.

"YATTA! Mirror, you beat Sasuke!" cheered Naruto, giving me a hug. I scowled. He had started that particular nickname when he noticed how similar to Lee I looked, the only differences being eyebrows, hair, eyes and gender. He gave me my new nickname, Mirror. Of course, right after that he began to call Lee Bushy-Brows like all the time. It was kinda amusing, his nicknames, if they weren't given to you.

"You did quite well Kyoko." said Shino, smirking behind his collar. I rolled my eyes and disentangled myself from Naruto as Iruka moved on with the lesson plan, talking to us about math again. I listened with half a ear, to busy being jittery, waiting for the fun part of school.

Physical activity. I was the top kunoichi in that to. However, I still wasn't as strong as some of the boys I spared with on the days I was allowed to spar with the boys. I was determined to get better. Lee helped me there, along with Shino. Naruto was a big help too. His taijutsu sucked, but he was crazy good at 'flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants'. It was fun fighting him.

However, what I loved most was the training me and Lee did together, every day after dinner.

"Alright everyone, outside." Iruka-sensei said after an hour of math.

We rushed outside, and paired off. I was going against Hyuuga Hinata. Hinata was shy and quiet, but I enjoyed talking with her when I could. She wasn't my friend, because we weren't very close but she was an acquaintance. Yamanaka Ino was another, as she often hung around me during kunoichi classes, along with Haruno Sakura, a girl who was very shy about her forehead. I pointed out it just meant she had a large brain, and thus, was a genius, whenever it was brought up by one of the other girls.

I sometimes wondered how much of my motherly instincts were still in me when I said stupid things like that.

"Don't hold back Hinata-chan," I said cheerfully as I got into the stance. Hinata smiled shakily back at me, and got into the same stance. In the end, I had won easily. I knew that if she tried she could beat me in a heartbeat one these days, but she never did, she was so hesitant. It made me sad; to see her like this. But I really couldn't do anything about it except encourage her.

After the spar, it was break. Lee was waiting for us, so I dragged my boys over and sat with Lee. He looked slightly troubled.

"Oi, Lee." I said, looking at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and shrugged, saying with no energy, "The other guys in my class."

I scowled, and turned to where I could see the more cruel bullies in Lee's class.

"Those people don't deserve to be shinobi," I muttered angrily.

Shino hummed, pointing out, "Most bullies never make shinobi, either because of them not focusing well enough to pass, dropping out, or direct sabotage."

"Why would they sabotage a kid?" Naruto asked, confused. I looked at Shino for the answer, also curious. I was 'Top Rookie' but Shino knew a lot of things I didn't know about the shinobi world, thanks to his dad.

"A bully who becomes a ninja is still a bully, except even more dangerous," Shino explained, looking at us. "A bully with the same exceptions to the law as a regular shinobi."

Lee paled as Naruto and I shuddered. It was a scary thought.

"Still doesn't really seem fair," muttered Naruto. I shrugged.

"We're shinobi. Fair isn't in our dictionary," I murmured. Lee frowned at me, and I sighed. That was one of the few things we argued about. I was all for fighting dirty, but Lee thought it would be dishonorable. I pointed out we were ninja, trained to be assassins and to steal, but he just said, _"We still have honor."_ I just agreed to disagree with him.

"That is true," Shino agreed, as he pulled out a book that caught my attention.

"YAY!" I cheered as Naruto grinned. Shino and I had converted him into being as bug obsessed as the two of us. "You got it!"

"What is it?" Lee wasn't as fascinated as us, but he did encourage us, and often read the books with us, to expand his knowledge.

"_'1001 Bugs That can Kill'_" said Shino as he opened it. Naruto and I looked at the book with interest, sitting on either side of Shino. Lee went around and sat behind Shino, being much taller than us, he was able to look over Shino's head. We read the book together, all of us way into it. It was the perfect book for a shinobi who loved bugs. After all, anything was a weapon if you could use it right. Even bugs.

-0-

A few months before the end of the year, Lee and I were hanging out at the training ground we had discovered. Nothing notable had happened during the school year, other than me soaring up in the ranks of the taijutsu portion of the class. It wasn't big, but now I was battling against the middle ranked boys. It felt good, and I focused on training even harder for it.

"_9605, 9606, 9607, 9608-_" counted Lee as he kicked the log in the clearing. I was inspecting the other log, intrigued by the strange marks.

"I'm serious Lee, it looks like someone whacked it with a stick."

"Why would, _9611,_ someone wreck, _9612,_ a training log, _9613,_ by hitting it with, _9614,_ a stick? _9615,"_ panted Lee, not slowing down. I shrugged not knowing the answer, and studied the log for a bit longer. After a while I joined Lee in training, using the log I had been looking at. The two of us just trained, neither of us talking, just counting out the numbers.

I loved this. I loved when it was just the two of us, training hard to be the best we could be. We trained until we dropped, then we got back up and kept going. We trained until we bled, and kept going, pushing ourselves past our limits. We were just kids, so our limits weren't very impressive, but we worked _hard_. We never gave up. When one of us needed a push, the other gave it. Something I had _never_ been able to experience before in my past life. And here… doing it with someone I loved and trusted… it was so _exhilarating. _Not only just the training but us too.

It was bond that we just knew would never break. It was the bond of siblings who were best friends. I would die for Lee, and I would kill for him. And I knew he would do the same.

It was a bond I hadn't shared before, and one I intended to cling to with every last bit of will I could muster up.

-0-

The school year was drawing to a close, and I kept my undefeated top kunoichi mark. Shino and Naruto were still my boys, and I had grown closer with Hinata, sometimes doing light spars during break to try and build up our skills. Ino and Sakura had become friends to me as well, though it was a casual friendship. Enough to come to my birthday, but not enough to know my secrets.

Speaking of… My birthday had been a blast. I had gotten _mountains _of books on bugs from Lee and Shino, a hat from Naruto that looked like a lady bug, some more feminine clothes from Ino and Sakura (a private joke between us, both girls were adamant in believing I would eventually turn into a boy myself if I didn't start dressing more… girlish) and a set of _really_ cool gloves from Hinata.

However, my mind wasn't thinking about my birthday, now it was thinking about something else.

"Today, we are activating your chakra systems." Iruka-sensei said, smiling at us. "Now, Shino, you're up first..."

I watched anxiously as Shino activated his chakra, which was really just Iruka-sensei getting Shino to use a very simple jutsu. I waited, my pulse racing and my mind going haywire. What was going to happen? Would I be able to use chakra? Or was I more like Lee than I had assumed?

"Kyoko, you're next."

* * *

**A/N:** XD... I'm a bitch. XD...

Alright, run down!

I promised this chapter was going to be long, but I really didn't know where to go with this chapter. I wanted to cover her first year, but I didn't want to put everythign so i just wrote little scenes and put them in. I like how it fits.

Yep! Kyoko is friends with Naruto, though Shino is still number one! I wasn't going to have them be friends, but I asked my mom what she would do if she was in Kyoko's situation and she said, "Befriend Naruto." And so, well, yeah. Hinata, Ino and Sakura were last minute decisions to Kyoko's friends. I think it kinda makes sense she would befriend them. She was a mother after all.

Okay, I hope I gave my explanation for Kyoko being top kunoichi, because from what I've read, Sakura was only the top kunoichi because she was smart. So... yeah... I went with that, sorry if it doesn't fit, but I think it makes sense so... yeah...

On with the Lee/Kyoko scenes. I'm trying to drive home how close they are. I find it adorable. :3 Kyoko loves her aniki!

Before I get complaints, _**MY** **BELIEF**_ is that the entire Naruto manga is sexist. IF YOU DON'T AGREE, YOU DON'T AGREE! I'm not forcing you to believe it, but I find it very sexist. I mean, look at all the outfits the kunoichi wear! Mesh shirts, Tsuande's chest and shirt? COME ON! SEXISM! I find it insulting. And wtf is with the kunoichi class? I get the point behind it, but I find it ridiculous. Bah.

Also, the bully thing? I totally believe that happens. I mean, you don't want a bully protecting civilians, right? That's just stupid.

Alright, review people! :) And, what do you think happens next? Can Kyoko use chakra? Or can't she?

**REWROTE **some parts, just added some things and took others out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**FAN ART HAS BEEN MADE! GO LOOK AT PROFILE FOR LINK! IT IS AWESOMEFULLNESS!**

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

I sat in a tree, with my knees drawn to my chest. I had been sitting there for a while, ever since...

_The chakra rushed through my hands, lighting them up in a pretty pale blue. Iruka-sensei smiled at me warmly._ _"You did it Kyoko! You activate your chakra!" _

_He looked so happy for me. He knew my brother. He knew what could have been the outcome for me. He was _so happy for me._ But all I felt was horror. I could use chakra, I could use chakra..._

_"Kyoko!" cried out Naruto as I just turned and ran, right out of the room, not looking back._

I felt the tears begin to come and I didn't even bother to fight them. I felt so childish, more than I had ever felt before, but right then I just didn't care.

I was terrified, even though deep inside myself I knew I was being foolish. I was terrified Lee wouldn't want anything to do with me now that I could use chakra-_me_, his baby sister-when _he_ couldn't do it himself. I felt my stomach twist as I could just see his face, so angry and furious, telling me to leave, telling me he didn't want me around... My tears changed into sobs, as I clutched at my knees, crying.

The branch I sat on creaked a bit and I looked up to see a man sitting in front of my, looking right at me. He was wearing a green jumpsuit with a Chūnin vest over it, and had a bowl cut paired with eyebrows as bushy as Lee's were. I thought he seemed familiar, but I was too distressed at the moment to place him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, giving me a concerned look. I just shrugged.

"I'm fine," I muttered, clutching at my knees. The man raised a thick eyebrow, and just gave me a look that seemed to almost accuse me of being the liar I was. "I _am_."

"Then why are you crying?" he asked. I gave him a dirty look.

"None of your business, now leave me alone," I snapped, as I buried my face back into my knees.

"I'm a shinobi of Konoha! It is my duty to make sure all citizens are doing okay!" said the man, sounding slightly more upbeat. I had a nagging suspicion he was like Lee and me, energetic and often exclaiming things loudly.

"Then why did you never make sure Lee was okay?" I grumbled under my breath.

"I did." _That_ got my attention. I looked up, and just stared. "I kept an eye on him, after hearing that he couldn't use chakra. I've seen the two of you train, you're both very youthful!"

Oh, now I get it. This was Gai... Maya had explained to me that Lee had copied his sensei after Gai had helped him through being unable to do chakra. I had always found his speeches about 'youth' funny, when I saw them.

"Thanks. But why are you talking to me now? Why not earlier?" I wiped my eyes and looked at him, confused.

"The two of you never cried before, you always got right back up, and kept going. Why are you crying now?" He asked, rearrange himself to look at me better. I gave a shrug, and clutched my knees tighter.

"Nothing big..." he didn't speak and that's what broke me. I just spilled all of my worries to him, over the fact I was terrified Lee wouldn't want anything to do with me now that I could use chakra and he couldn't. In the end, I was sobbing into my knees again, unable to stop, not even when I heard the noise of someone climbing up the tree.

"Kyoko..." said a way to familiar voice. My head snapped up to look right at Lee, who had a facial expression I couldn't place. I began to cry even more, and Lee maneuvered the two of us so we sat side by side on the tree branch, and he hugged me tight against himself. "Kyoko, don't cry. I'm not mad at you, I'm not upset."

"But, you... you can't..." I cried into his shoulder, guilt gnawing away at me. At the moment I wasn't a grown woman. I was just a little girl who felt horrible and wanted nothing more than to be reassured by her older brother.

"Kyoko. I don't hate you, you're my _imouto_," Lee said firmly, confidence radiating from that one single statement. I wanted to believe him.

"It's not fair that I can use it and you can't," I whispered into his shoulder.

"Imouto, I am still going to be the best ninja in the village, that's a promise," Lee uttered confidently. "No matter what, remember?"

I couldn't help but give a watery chuckle, relieved beyond words he wasn't so disturbed by this outcome. In an attempt to lighten the mood even more so, I said, "You forgot Lee, I'm going to be stronger than any boy in this village, so I'll be the best ninja."

I pulled away and scrubbed at my eyes with my sleeves. Lee laughed, and the two of us just grinned at each other. My fears were put to rest, and the two of us were okay. It was alright.

"HOW YOUTHFUL!" yelled a voice, shocking me. I had forgotten Gai was still there. He gave us a large grin, giving us a thumbs up. He was still on the same branch as us, and it seemed as if he had been crying through our talk. "IT IS MARVELOUS TO SEE SUCH YOUTH!"

"Thank you..." I was about to call him Gai, but stopped myself, remembering he hadn't give us his names.

"Oh, how UNYOUTHFUL! I forgot to give you my name..." He jumped right up and landed on the arches of his feet, the branch shaking. "I AM MAITO GAI! KONOHA'S SUBLIME GREEN BEAST OF PREY!" He did his pose thing again, his teeth flashing. Lee jumped up, shaking the branch even more.

"YOSH! I AM ROCK LEE!" He grinned at Gai, and after a second I went for it, jumping up and crying out happily, "I AM ROCK KYOKO!" The branch shook more, and I looked at it. "And let's move before this breaks!"

"I agree!" Gai exclaimed, leaping down from the tree branch with Lee and I following behind him.

"Hey, Kyoko, want to train?" asked Lee, motioning to the logs. I grinned and nodded. Gai gave a shout.

"THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY IN YOU TWO!" He then gave us this big hug that made me squeak. Lee grinned widely. Of course, I could tell then and there that those two would be inseperable.

Eh. It could be worse.

-0-

As the school year ended, Gai became a very important part of our lives. He was always there to cheer us on or to push us to our limits. Lee idolized him and even dressed like him. I didn't though. I may be alright with wearing guy clothes but I was _not_ wearing a green jumpsuit. I had _some _standards. Ino thanked me when I told her this. She said she would have had to wrap a blindfold around her eyes rather than see me wear that.

Sakura though took it on herself to try and find me a new outfit, so I tended to hide behind Hinata when us girl hung out together. I never liked clothes shopping. My younger sister had been the freak about it. I just went with her to try and make sure she didn't buy everything in sight.

"Kyoko-chan, come on!" pleaded Sakura, giving me these big eyes. "I know you would look so cute in this outfit!" She was holding up a dress. I had gone to get some more pants, as I kept ripping mine, and the girls offered (forced themselves on me, really) to join me.

"Will it go with my weights?" Gai had given us a set of weights for our legs after watching us train for a while to increase our speed, agility and lower body strength. I however bought another set for my arms to my upper body strength as well. Gai warned me not to buy the chest weight because I was too young for that much weight. He did call me extremely _youthful_ for buying the extra weight though. I pointed out it was goal to be stronger than any boy and biologically speaking girls lacked in upper body strength compared to boys. I wanted to remedy that situation. Lee then announced he wouldn't wear extra weights because it was my thing. I gave him a dynamic hug for that.

I still was searching for a melee weapon though, to increase my damage. Gai approved of the idea, and was trying to find the perfect weapon for me, but no such luck yet.

"Kyoko, nothing goes with those," Ino pouted, motioning to the bulky leg warmers that covered my legs with disdain. I had my arm weights hidden under my long sleeves.

"Then, no. I'm fine with how I look."

"I-I think w-w-we, um, should let Kyoko d-decide for h-h-herself," Hinata whispered, her cheeks already warming from drawing our attention to her. We _really_ had to work on that.

"Listen to Hinata!" I proclaimed, grabbing some pants. Sakura pouted and gave me these big eyes, along with Ino. I sighed, but relented, a bit. "I'll change my outfit when we graduate, promise."

"WE GET TO HELP PICK IT OUT!" Ino and Sakura screeched.

I felt as if I signed my own death warrant.

-0-

A few weeks after the talk with the girls, Lee and I were training, when I made the comment about the log again. It had become a sort of joke between the three of us, me commenting on it.

"This log is weird."

"You always say that Kyoko," Lee said as he did his warm up. I rolled my eyes and motioned to it.

"Look at it; it has marks like someone hit it with a stick. That's _weird_."

"It _is_ odd," remarked Gai, studying the log. "Hmm, does anyone else use this training ground?"

"Maybe. We aren't always here," I pointed out as I began to do my drill. Punch, kick, punch kick... three hand seals while kicking, punch, kick. Gai had taught me quite a few handseals, and he told me to practice them in my drill so I could do them while in motion without a thought.

"Hmm, this is a mystery," murmured Gai as he watched us train. He then turned to the more important focus of making us stronger after a few more minutes of contemplation. The idea was put to rest while we trained, but I was curious. Who would use a stick on a log?

-0-

Lee and I began to really notice changes in the middle of the summer. We were stronger and faster, though Lee was much faster than I was, and I was a _bit_ stronger than him. We were determined to keep at it, to be the best we could be. In fact, we had begun to join Gai on his laps around the village, although Lee did it more often than I did. It was during one of these runs that we met someone _very_ important to Gai.

"RIVAL!" cried Gai, stopping right in the middle of our run. Lee and I stopped, jogging in place, to watch Gai speak to a man with silver hair and a mask. His left eye was covered, and he looked very relaxed (lazy). He also was reading an orange book that Shibi sometimes read, though he put it away quickly whenever Shino, Lee or I saw him reading it.

I often wondered what it was, as did Lee.

"Mn, oh. Gai, didn't see you there," greeted the man lazily. Gai face planted into the ground.

"ARGH! YOU ALWAYS GET ME WITH YOUR HIP AND COOL ATTITUDE!" Gai roared, looking upset. Lee and I nodded, crossing our arms and glaring at the man, who looked at us, and then, from what little skin I could see, went pale.

"Who are the kids Gai?"

"OH! HOW UNYOUTHFUL OF ME TO FORGET TO INTRODUCE MY CUTE STUDENTS!" Lee beamed being called Gai's 'cute student' while I just smiled. "THIS IS ROCK LEE AND HIS SISTER, ROCK KYOKO!"

"IT IS AN HONOR TO MEET GAI-SENSEI'S RIVAL!" cheered Lee. I grinned and mimicked the Good Guy Pose.

"It is truly an honor...?" I trailed off, realizing I didn't know his name.

"Hatake Kakashi..." said Kakashi, still staring at us slightly pale.

"Hatake-san!" I said, smiling. Gai grinned at us, his teeth flashing.

"RIVAL! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A HUNDRED PUSHUPS!" cheered Gai. Kakashi sighed, but agreed. As Gai worked hurriedly on the pushups, Kakashi took his sweet lazy time. Of course Gai won in the end but to me, it seemed like Kakashi wasn't really trying. Nevertheless, the victory made Gai happy. After that round, Kakashi went off on his way and we went back to our jog.

But my curiosity got the better of me.

"Gai-sensei, what is that book?" I asked, looking up at him. He went pale, and changed the subject, leaving me even more confused and curious.

But I let it go.

I would find out eventually.

-0-

A week before the school year, I found myself with some free time, a rare thing as I was nearly always training. I took advantage of it and ran off to hang out with my friends. As fate would have it, only Shino was available to goof off with, the rest to busy.

"Ready for the school year?" asked Shino as the two of us walked through the woods, looking for bugs.

"Of course! It's going to be so youthful!" I cheered happily. Shino twitched slightly. "What?"

"Why do you copy Gai's exclamations?"

"'Cause it's awesome," I said, grinning happily. Shino sighed, but let it go, and the two of us walked together, pointing out bugs to each other. It was a normal thing for the two of us. One of the few times I slowed down and just relaxed, letting my mind wander. I had quite a few things to think about.

As I got closer with Lee and Gai, I had noticed my personality change. It was... odd. I had never been a really excitable child. When I got older, I had been a little wild, hence the conception of Maya, during one of my more wild swings. I had always been a calm and quiet individual. Now though, I was energetic and loud. I frightened myself, a little. I didn't recognize myself. I didn't see myself in the girl I looked at in the morning.

My physical appearance was the more drastic change, blonde to black, blue to brown, tan to pale. I was completely different. But that was cosmetic, no real significance to me. It was, as I said before, the more hyperactive side to myself. I had never been like that before.

I spotted a puddle and studied myself. How many steps would I take, before I wasn't the same person anymore... or was I too far gone already? Who was I, really? And how did that make me feel?

At first, I was so exhilarated to be in this world and to do and experience so many wonderful things that I had missed out on before. But… but… my past defined who I was and now this past is changing me once again. And I wasn't even too sure I _wanted_ to be changed. Some part of me didn't one let go of my past.

I knew exactly which part of me that was.

"Kyoko?" asked Shino, seeing me stare into the puddle. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, turning to Shino and forcing a smile, titling my head to the side. He wasn't convinced, but dropped it, and pointed out a spider he had seen to me.

As I walked, I let that part of me out for just a moment. Long enough to give me one little thought. I wondered, bitterly, if my Maya would even recognize her own _mother_?

* * *

**A/N: **AND IT'S A WRAP! You like? 8D

I wrote this chapter twice. I had it already, but then I re-read it and found that it sucked, so I did a complete makeover. I had it written after the third chapter, already to go, with three scenes for the top.

This could have gone three ways; A) Kyoko is like Lee, and can't use chakra, B) Kyoko could use chakra but kept it secret so Lee wouldn't be sad and C) the version above. I had a hard time picking what I wanted, until I read some of my reviews. I hope you guys like it.

Alright, explanation time!

Gai talked to Kyoko here because she was crying. He's been watching the two for some time, and was impressed by how much determination they had. As Lee never cried in Gai's sight before, he never spoke to him. Seeing Kyoko cry though, made him go out and talk to her. He was curious on why she was crying, and he was worried for her, so he went to talk.

Yeah, I kinda based it on what I watched in the anime, on how Gai finally revealed himself to Lee when he cried... It makes sense to me...especially since the English Anime had him as Konoha's Noble Gentleman (I went with the Japanese Version in this fic for fun), so I thought "Oh, he would so help a girl!"

Anyway, i hope I kept them all in character! This was hard to write... And we met Kakashi! 8D I love that guy.

The end scene was an afterthought. I had this chapter done yesterday, but I re-read some of my reviews and decided to go with this after reading RandomCitizen's comment again. Kyoko wasn't always the happy go lucky girl she is now, and that kinda scares her, how much she's changing. Why is she changing? Well, even though she is 27 in memory, she is 7 in body, and that means in brain development to. She is redeveloping her personality. While she does have similar traits to her old self, she mostly had a new personality.

I'm going to try and speed up time in this story, though it's not going to instantly drop them right on the day of graduation. I want to show development, and I have a few scenes that are crucial to the plot that need to happen before they graduate.

Now, can anyone guess what weapon she's going to get? Because I've been dropping hints for a while. XD Have fun!

REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**THERES ANOTHER FANART LINK ON MY PROFILE!**

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

My second year in the academy started out with no huge affair, other than Gai walking us to school, cheering about how youthful we were. Lee got right into it, cheering along with him. After a while I joined in as well though nowhere near as hyped up about it as they were. Recently however when I looked at Lee I felt a tug in my heart.

Lee had recently cut off his braid, and gave himself a bowl cut. I had felt hurt seeing that. Doing each other's hair had been our thing and now, I lost itit may have seemed silly but it was _nice_. Not long afterwards though, Lee must have noticed my feelings because he sat me down and brushed my hair, pulling it into two braids. In turn, I smoothed down his hair into his bowl-cut. This became our new ritual.

It was different, yet the same.

"Imouto!" cheered Lee, flashing me a blinding grin. "Let us proceed to our youthful class rooms." I at him and gave him one last hug, quickly giving Gai one as well, before I ran off towards my classroom.

"Hey, Kyoko!" called out Naruto, as he spotted me in the classroom. He waved a hand at me and I went up the stairs to sit with him. Shino, Ino, Sakura and Hinata were already there. "I see you haven't donned a suit yet."

"Nope. I will be youthful in my own way!" I cheered, pumping my fists into the air. Iruka-sensei coughed, and stared at me, while Mizuki-sensei, Iruka's assistant, twitched.

"Gai really has corrupted you," sighed Ino, shaking her head. Sakura giggled at the comment.

"He has not." I pouted as the others laughed, not unkindly. I was about to defend Gai when a sharp pain erupted on the back of my head. "OW!"

I slapped a hand away from the back of my head, and turned to look at the boy who had poked me. Sato Taro smirked at me, making me scowl. Taro was a pain, through and through. He was in everyone's business and was cruel to anyone he deemed below him. His friend, Ami was the same. They both were ignorable, though Ami made Sakura a target often. Ino was quick to deal with her when that happened, and I was able to cheer up Sakura. I wasn't good with dealing with bullies, having been fat with braces through middle school and as such a large target, but I _did_ know how to cheer people up.

"I'm surprised you turned up, Dork," Taro said, smirking cruelly at me. "I thought you had seen reason and given up on ever becoming a shinobi."

"Still upset the Kyoko beat you in the written scores Sato-san?" taunted Ino. Naruto smirked at Ino's words while Shino fixed his glasses, a sign of agitation.

"Whatever." scoffed Taro. I turned away from him, but his next words froze me. "So, did your useless brother cry?"

"What did you say?" My eyes snapped towards Taro, my voice tight. Taro had made it a point to mock me for Lee's inability to use chakra. Ami often joined in with him, and it usually took booth Naruto and Shino to hold me back. But sometimes I swore even they wouldn't be able to stop me one of these days…

"I asked, did your _useless_ brother cry? After all, now his little sister is the one who can be a shinobi, while he's never going to be anything more than a dropout. He _is_ dropping out, right? I mean, you can't be a shinobi if you can't use chakra. Only an idiot would believe that."

"Taro, you're talking about Rock Lee?" Ami inquired as she sat beside him, having just come in with her clones.

"Oh, too true," smirked Taro. I clenched my hands into fists as I stood up abruptly, glaring balefully at them.

"You two are the vilest people I have ever met. My brother has the _flames of youth_! He _will_ be a shinobi, and he _will_ be the best shinobi in this village!" I snarled, glaring at them. I itched to give into the urge of showing the errors of their way through physical violence. I didn't. Lee and Gai would be so disappointed in me.

But _oh_ how I wanted to anyway.

"Too scared to face us? Maybe you should quit as well," mocked Ami, smirking at us. My anger flared and it took every ounce of my willpower not to lash out at her, not to wipe that pointlessly smug little smile off her face. It would _so easy_. My fingers twitched and I had to consciously relax them. It would be so _simple_ to just put her in her place.

"How many times have you faced Kyoko?" asked Shino asked, turning to the two. Ami blushed deeply, while Taro smirked. Taro was ranked third in the class in taijutsu. I knew I wasn't skilled enough to face him quite yet, but that day would come and it would come soon. I was dying to teach him a lesson.

"HEY PAY ATTENTION!" shrieked Iruka in his ridiculously loud voice. The stupid little bullies went away and I sat back down, still irritated from their presence but as the lecture wore on, my anger faded with it. It helped that Naruto was there to calm me down through distractions.

"The teme is looking at you," grumbled Naruto, his lips twisting into a mild pout. I nudged his feet under the table.

"Don't be mean," I ordered, ignoring the comment. Uchiha Sasuke wanted to be the top of the class, but I owned the written part of the class. We had a friendly rivalry, nothing like the craziness between him and Naruto. Those two were way too intense. They were almost like Gai and Kakashi, only somehow it seemed even more… fierce.

"But, _Mirror_-"

"No," I ordered him, giving my best stern look. Ino snickered, shaking her head.

"You are such a mother-hen Kyoko," she giggled. I rolled my eyes and went back to taking notes, slightly amused. It almost seemed like I was destined to play a maternal role. Not that I particularly minded.

I wondered if I still had the guilt trip down, that would be useful to have.

-0-

When you pump chakra through your hands for the first time, it hurts. That is why it's done at the end of your first year; to give you time to adjust. It'd still hurt the next time, but slowly you'd get used to it. However, that didn't make it feel any better, knowing that.

"_Itai!_" I shook my hands, my skin lobster red from chakra burns. I had attempted a henge but unfortunately it hadn't worked. Instead I was blessed with chakra burns all over my hands, which unsurprisingly stung worse than a three degree burn.

"Kyoko, are you alright?" asked Sakura, looking concerned. I just flashed her a grin, giving a quick thumbs up.

"_Hai_! Just a bit of chakra burn," I assured her. Taro snorted from behind me.

"Still having trouble, Dork?" he taunted, smirking at my flustered face. _Oh how easy it would be to catch him with his guard down and… _Ino whirled around to him, her nostrils flaring.

"Still have no life? What's your problem? Why are you so _obsessed_ with her? You would think you could take the hint. _She's not interested_. _She does not want you here._ In fact _no one wants you here_. Why don't you just _leave_ you no-life _loser?_" Ino snarled at him. I felt my lips twitch in satisfaction when Taro gaped and scowled in retaliation, his cheeks a bright pink.

It had been a month since we started our second year, and I was one of the few still having trouble with using chakra for jutsus. Taro had gotten it easily, and because of it had more ammunition to taunt me. Ami tried as well, until I called for a grudge match and beat the shit out of her.

Grudge matches were an interesting thing. We didn't really have them in my previous world-or if we did, I certainly didn't know about it. They were done to keep things low key. You hate someone, beat the crap out of them and move on. Don't let it mess up school. It was sort of an unofficial shinobi-approved way of dealing with personal issues. I was certain the teachers and majority of the other shinobi in the village knew about them. I wasn't ready for a match with Taro yet, but I was working on it. I _really_ wanted to beat the crap out of him.

"Want me to beat the crap out of him?" growled Naruto, glaring at him as I wrapped my hands in gauze.

"Naruto, Kyoko wants to do it herself," said Shino, sounding a bit annoyed. It was probably at Taro, Kami knows he got on everyone's nerves. "However, I think he deserves a special _treat_."

Naruto grinned evilly, and Hinata edged away a bit. I didn't blame her. Naruto was bad enough with his pranks, but when Shino helped? Yeah, better to run.

"Do you want help?" Sakura asked them. I took a large step away, Hinata following. Now it was getting down right lethal.

"Because we would be glad to help," Ino said, smirking. That made Hinata and I turn and run.

It was now officially in the red alert zone. I almost felt sorry for Taro.

Almost.

-0-

I was sitting a tree as I inspected my hands after a day at the academy, They were still burnt and sore, looking like I had held them in a fire. I sighed, and rubbed my hands. They really stung. A rustle of the leaves around me made me sigh, turning to Gai.

"Hi Gai," I said, softly, not really in the mood to be energetic. Gai frowned, and then spotted my hands. His eyes widened and he took them, gently.

"Are you okay Kyoko?" he asked, sounding a little worried. I wouldn't lie and say I didn't feel touched by that. Some part of me was still getting used to being looked over. I was accustomed to looking out for myself and_her_. It was… a nice change.

"Yeah, just some chakra burns."

"Oh, my YOUTHFUL student. I am glad you are alright." He gently let go of my hands and grinned at me again. I sighed, as he took out some bandages. "Something bothering you?"

"It's so... frustrating," I confessed, as he rebound my hands. "I'm having so much trouble, and it's been almost two months, and everyone else can do it and..."

"Calm down," Gai consoled. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself as Gai leaned against the tree we were sitting in.

"I don't know why," I whispered. "Why am I so weak in using chakra?"

I didn't bring up the possibility of the fact that maybe it was because Lee was my brother. I wouldn't go near that.

"Maybe you are just more sensitive to it," suggested Gai. "There was a chakra sensor in my graduating class. She had a problem with it as well, though her issue lasted only a week longer than the rest of us."

I hummed thoughtfully at that, looking down and swinging my legs.

"Or maybe I'm just a loser," I murmured, almost absently to myself. The branch suddenly shook and I looked up to see Gai towering over me, and uncharacteristically glaring.

"THAT IS WRONG!" he shouted, startling me. "You are the most youthful kunoichi in this village! You work hard to become stronger every day, to work towards your goal! You will be the strongest shinobi in this village! YOU ARE NO LOSER!" he struck a pose, teeth flashing at me. "YOU ARE A GENIUS!"

I looked at Gai, and I somehow believed him. He had never led me wrong before, nor had he ever lied to me. He was always there, encouraging me, and helping me, giving advice or scolding me when I did wrong. He was a good man, probably one of the best I've ever met-in both of my lives.

I threw myself at him, not caring that I was on a branch, up above the ground. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his stomach and squeezed.

"Thank you, Tou-san," I said softly, before I let go and jumped off the branch, running away before he could say anything, feeling embarrassed.

He found me a hour later, training with Lee. The hug I got was bone breaking, as he cried out how honored he was to be considered my father figure. Lee got in on the act and it took hours for us all to calm down.

It was _awesome_.

-0-

A month after Gai became verbally known as Tou-san to me, though Lee continued to call him Gai-sensei due to being personally trained by him, I was no longer having trouble with my chakra, and now was preforming the henge with ease. Taro had scowled, seeing me doing it, but all I did was ignore him. It took an outrageous amount of willpower to do that. But I did and I was proud of myself.

I was still _so_ going to beat the shit out of him the moment I could though.

"Tou-san!" I called out, spotting Gai as he once again challenged Kakashi. Lee was with me, as the two of us were doing our daily jog around Konoha. Kakashi looked up and just stared at me as I ran over to them, Lee following, waving.

"OH!" cheered Gai, hugging me. "I am so happy to see you Kyoko!" he hugged me tighter, grabbing Lee as well. "You as well Lee!"

"Thanks Tou-san!"

"Thanks Gai-sensei!" Kakashi coughed, catching our attention.

"Tou-san?" he asked, looking amused, and mildly worried for some reason. Gai beamed at him, his teeth sparkling with joy.

"Kyoko has decided I am YOUTHFUL enough to be her tou-san!" He grinned again, hugging me and Lee tightly. I looked at Kakashi, who seemed amused at the three of us. I then remembered a joke Naruto told me,

_"If Gai's your dad, is Kakashi your uncle?"_

I grinned at Kakashi and said, "As Tou-san's eternal rival, you're my Oji-san!"

I told him with a completely serious face too. Naruto would have been proud. I leapt away from Gai and latched onto Kakashi, hugging him, who had frozen in shock (or horror?). He didn't move for a second, but he then patted me on the head slowly, as if he was unsure of how to respond.

"YOSH!" cheered Gai and Lee at the same time. "THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY!"

At this, Gai lunged forward and wrapped his own arms around the two of us. Lee then quickly followed suit and the two males were quickly crying out tears of joy. I snickered at Kakashi's horror-struck face but was pleased to know he didn't try to escape us so quickly.

We were an odd little family, but it worked.

-0-

I sighed as I walked towards the training ground, by myself, unfortunately. Lee was off doing laps to gain more speed. I had left after the first two hundred so I could work on strength training. I had decided to do it at the training ground, so I headed there earlier than I normally did to get some exercise in. As I walked towards the grounds, I wondered when I would find a melee weapon. Nothing seemed fit me, at all.

Sai were a no go, nun-chucks were a no, swords weren't my style and scythes? Yeah, no. I had zero talent for anything. Gai was trying, but I wondered if I would ever find a weapon for myself. Even Kakashi had no idea what I could be good at, and he had seen almost everything (as far as I was concerned anyway).

Upon reaching the ground, I spotted a man using the log I normally used.

He was using a staff, striking the log with a speed I was impressed by for someone who wore no obvious sign of weights. He was using the staff like an extension of his own body, using it like it was second nature.

It dimly reminded me of a ballet dancer back in my old world, how he handled the weapon. After a while of striking the log, which I watched, realizing _he_ was the cause of the large dents in the log, he suddenly did a back flip, slamming the staff end down into the ground, balancing on it with one hand for a second. He then pushed off, still keeping a hold of it, and landed crouched, slapping the ground to dispatch some of the force. A small crater was left as he did another flip, this time, a complete one, landing on his feet.

As I watched, his routine grow more and more advanced, his body moving like a well-oiled machine. He began to add thrusts, and jabs with his staff into his flips, going faster and faster until, he stopped, his staff hovering an inch above the ground. His shoulders were shaking while he breathed, obviously out of breath.

"Come out now," He said, coming out of his stance, and sliding the staff into a pocket on a strap on his back, before he turned around and looked at me. His voice was slightly high for a boy, but I brushed it off. Not every guy had a deep voice.

I blushed, but obeyed, coming out and walking over to him. I took the time to study him, remembering that Iruka-sensei always told us to quickly study someone before we talked, to be able to remember them if needed for a report.

He wasn't a very buff man, but toned from what I could see of his arms, which were mostly covered by bandages except for his shirt sleeves that reached his elbow. His clothes were a simple shirt and pants, with a pair of simple shinobi shoes. His forehead protector was in its proper place, and he had short black hair and plain brown eyes. The odd thing though was his belt.

It reminded me of a seat belt, a sash attacked to the bottom part, resting around his waist. The buckled on it were large, but well cared for, and clean. His staff was attached to it, and looked as if he could pull it out in an instant. What else he had on his staff was odd. He had two scrolls strapped to the front of the sash, and pouches covering the bottom part.

"Oi, gaki," he said, waving in my face, startling me from my study. "You train here?"

"Yeah," I answered, nodding. He nodded, and turned to walk away, having lost interest in me, after learning that he shared the training ground with me.

"Can you teach me?" I blurted out. I had no idea where that came from, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

It was a good weapon, and it obviously was good for more than just hitting from what I had seen with his flips, one of which included vaulting over the training log. It also wasn't delicate like sai's were. I didn't need to be careful; I could use my full strength. It also was a good thing to have when you were wounded. Instant crutch. All in all, it was a good weapon. And the more I really thought about it… the more it seemed to fit me.

"What?" the man asked, turning around to look at me, puzzled. I took another breath.

"Can you teach me how to use a staff like you?" I said, looking hopeful.

"You mean a bo?" he asked, looking slightly miffed at me calling it a staff. I nodded, eagerly, feeling silly I didn't know what it was. "You're serious?"

"Yes, I am," I stated firmly. He looked at me, just blinking. He then crossed his arms and studied me, not moving for a few minutes.

"Why? Most kids want to use a sword."

"I'm not most kids," I said, trying not to laugh. Definitely not like my most kids. Unless most kids were reincarnations of single mothers who had been reborn in their daughter's favorite manga/anime. But for some odd reason I didn't quite think that was the case. The man hummed under his breath, before he jerked his head.

"Come on," he ordered, beginning to walk away.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I followed him.

"To a dango shop. I'm hungry."

-0-

"So, you want to use a bo because you think it's the best weapon to use, for yourself," Koemi summarized as we sat down. Upon hearing that my new trainer's name was Tanaka Koemi, I had restudied the 'man'. I noticed the slight raise in his chest, learning the he, was actually a she.

That was embarrassing, though I didn't bring it up. I figured she wouldn't take kindly to it.

"Yes," I said, eating my own dango. Koemi ate some, as she watched me. She often stared at me, a haunted look sometimes entering her eyes, before leaving just as quickly.

"Look, gaki-"

"My name is Kyoko," I reminded her, having just introduced myself earlier. She raised an eyebrow at me, not looking amused.

"Gaki," she said, ignoring my glare at that, "If, and that's _if_, I teach you, most of my moves are to knock someone out. Very few bojutsu moves can kill, unless there is enough force behind it."

Desensitization of kids began as soon as they entered the academy. Sensei's came in with bloody bandages, or limping. We were shown pictures of battle fields, and told how to kill someone with a needle. We were told stories about battles in gruesome detail and all of our textbooks had colored pictures, showing battle scenes. Again, I was forcibly reminded of Hitler, but I knew this was for a better cause than the Nazi Party Ideals.

I had seen it all and inevitably I too was desensitized.

"I don't plan on killing much," I confessed.

Koemi looked at me and nodded, firmly.

"That's a good attitude. It's also the reason I'm still a Chūnin. I don't want to kill, but I do when the need comes." She shrugged, chewing on some dango. "If it's the heat of battle, I kill, but I don't like assassinations and crap like that."

"Do Jōnin-" I began. Koemi cut me off, nodding firmly.

"They are required to take assassination missions." She ate some more dango, and then said, noticing my plate was done, "Meet me at that training ground after supper. I'll train you."

I bounced up, cheering happily, pumping my fists into the air and taking off to tell Lee. I did hear though, a murmur from Koemi, "Kami, Akane... she reminds me so much of you..."

-0-

A month after I met Koemi, I still wasn't allowed near a bo. She wanted me to learn a basic style before she did anything. Koemi was a great teacher, and not just in bojutsu, but in every ninja art.

When she had seen my arms weights, she had given me bandages like hers. At first, I was confused until she revealed that the bandages were layered with gravity seals. Calling out the number of the seals you want deactivated followed by _kai_, would deactivate only the ones called. They were ingenious, and I told her so. She responded dismissively before she made me do more taijutsu stances. I had learned that while she wasn't mean, Koemi was a blunt and short person, not caring if she hurt someone's feelings. She had said as much to Gai, who at first, had been thrilled to meet a 'blossoming youthful woman' like Koemi, after learning she was girl. Upon learning _that _though, he had been shocked by her un-youthful attitude and said so.

"Yeah, don't care," was her only answer, before she dragged me off to teach me more. Ever since then, Gai and Koemi had hated each other. It was kinda funny, how they acted around each other. They would glare at each other, or make snide remarks. Lee found it funny as well, though he was upset that Koemi was un-youthful towards Gai at times.

I wasn't too sure why Gai hated Koemi. Koemi hated Gai because she found him to be annoying and kinda weird at times, but Gai had no reason. At least, not to my knowledge. I did know Koemi mocked Gai's youthful ways at time, trying to get a rise out of him for fun. Maybe that was why he hated her.

"Hello Kyoko," drawled a bored voice, startling me. I turned to see Kakashi behind me, reading his book.

"Hi Oji-san!" I chirped, smiling at him. Kakashi patted the top of my head absently as he turned a page in his book.

"Koemi and Gai going at it again?" he asked, sounding amused. I shrugged.

"Don't know, maybe." We sat in silence until I asked, "Oji, what's that book?"

He looked at me, and then, the only eye I could see curved upward.

"Why don't you read and find out?" he handed me the book and I opened it, wondering what it was about.

A few hours later, and I tracked down Kakashi to give back his book. He was in a shinobi bar, along with Gai, a red-eyes woman, a bearded guy, and Koemi, who was glaring at Gai.

"Hi Tou-san!" I greeted, smiling at him as I walked up to them. The shinobi at the door had let me in when I said I was just returning Kakashi's book, looking amused. I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen.

"Koyko! Why are you here?" Gai asked, looking shocked. I just smiled, and held up Kakashi's book.

"Returning Oji's book!" I handed it to him, and said, seriously, "It was a good book, but the porn was sub-par and there was large plot holes. Thanks for lending it to me."

I turned and walked away. I only made it two steps when I heard the scream, from Gai and most likely the red eyed woman,

"_You let her read porn_?" I heard Koemi laughing as Kakashi yelled in pain from what was most likely, a double attack from Gai and the other woman. I just grinned.

You'd think he'd learn his lesson by now.

* * *

**A/N: **And we are done! I wanted it to end funny, so here!

Next chapter will be a bit of a filler again, but will contain the Uchiha Massacre, and some other... things...

Anyway, Babyuknowme13 was the only person to guess the right weapon! Thank you!

Also, like my cover? It's a lotus. I would draw a cover for my story, but I'm not good at bookcovers. XD

Explanation time:

Kyoko is a girl. Lee is a boy. Girls are more sensative. Hence why she calls Gai tou-san (also cause it's cute). He acts like a dad to her and Lee, and as such, she calls him dad. (Kakashi is oji-san for the luls.) Gai lets her because he considers them his kids, cause he trains them. lee doesn't call Gai tou-san because he is being trained by Gai. While Kyoko is as well, it is not as extensive as Lee's because he needs more care. So, Lee doesn't call him tou-san.

Koemi was added because I had no idea where Kyoko would learn to use bojutsu otherwise. No one else uses a bo! So, I needed to have an OC for it to work. She won't be to important, it depends on where I take her. In the 'canon' world of Naruto, she's dead hence why we never see her, in my mind.

Why Gai hates her is beacause she is very unyouthful and often mocks him for fun. Kakashi, while he does 'ignore' Gai, doesn't mock him. Gai doesn't like Koemi because of this.

Taro was added because I mentioned that Kyoko was the top female in the class. Taro is a guy, who she can't intimidate, so he can taunt her easier. Also, she isn't as strong as him yet. (hint: yet)

I hope this made sense to you, and that everyone is in character. 8D

Now, I have exams coming up so the next update may be slow. Wish me luck! Just finished one today! One tomorrow!

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**PICTURE OF KYOKO AS A GENIN UP! PROFILE FOR LINK  
**

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

It was a few days after my birthday when I learned why the name Itachi had felt familiar and why it had put me on edge when I had heard that he had graduated early. Koemi had decided to start teaching me how to handle a bo, and I was practicing with it, while my friends watched. Gai and Lee had also decided to watch, taking a break from training. Gai and Koemi were exchanging the usual barbs:

"You are corrupting these youthful children! HOW DARE YOU BE SO UN-YOUTHFUL AROUND IMPRESSIONABLE MINDS!"

"Don't care. Oi, gaki! Your leg isn't straight enough."

"Hai, Koemi-sensei."

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL MY DAUGHTER GAKI!"

"Whatever. Gaki, I mean it. Straighten that-" Koemi's voice had been cut off, as she looked up and froze. Gai followed her example, and stared as well. "Gaki, we'll finish this tomorrow."

She took off, along with Gai. I looked up to see two hawks in the sky.

"Their calling all Chūnin and Jōnin," Shino mused, looking at the sky.

"They haven't done that in years," Ino whispered, her voice a mixture of awe and slight horror. "Tou-san said it was during the war that they would call upon both."

We all stood in somber silence, digesting what Ino had said. Not even Naruto dared to speak.

It was much later that night when Gai came home, having moved in with us a month or so after Koemi began to train me. I had been reading one of the bug books Shino had given me, after tending to my ant farm, when he came home, ash faced. Koemi had also come, looking just as terrible.

"What's wrong Tou-san, Koemi-sensei?" I asked, alerting Lee, who came out of his room, where he had been doing pushups.

"Gai-sensei, Koemi-san!" he exclaimed worriedly. They didn't speak for a long time.

"Uchiha Itachi massacred the Uchiha Clan tonight,"Gai finally said. Koemi's eyes closed in a sort of resignation while Lee and I froze, pure horror washing over me. My body was cold in ways I never knew it could be cold in.

"Sasuke?" I asked, my voice trembling with terror. Koemi went pale, and leaned forward, her head hanging in between her knees. Gai acutally looked at her worried, placing a hand on her back. At his contact she stiffened before she instantly sat up and shrugged it off, glaring at him.

"He's alive, but Itachi used some kind of genjutsu on him. He's... in a kind of coma," said Gai, turning away from Koemi.

"The Hokage doesn't know when he will wake," Koemi admitted, refusing to meet my eyes.

My eyes closed and I swallowed thickly. He was alive. He was alive. He was alive. He would be okay. He would wake up. He _would_.

When I opened my eyes, concern for the woman before me overtook my momentarily panic. Koemi's face was deathly pale and her entire body was tense and tight. As if she was prepared for flight at any moment. I had never seen Koemi like this.

It scared me.

"Koemi-sensei?" I asked, hesitantly. She looked at me, her face not moving. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she snapped. Giving me one last assessing look she turned and headed out the door. But before she closed the door she paused long enough to say, "Practice is canceled until next week gaki."

She then left, leaving us staring after her. Gai went to bed after a while, drained and not his usual self. Lee followed shortly after, looking oddly subdued, but I stayed up, unable to sleep.

I blamed myself, however stupidly. If I had paid attention to Maya's rants, this wouldn't have happened. If I hadn't been so focused on my schooling I would have paid attention.

I could have stopped this. I could have warned someone...

But how could I have? I had no proof, and claiming to be able to see the future would get me locked up and forced to foretell things, or thrown into a mental hospital, something rarely done but possible. I couldn't risk it.

I didn't sleep at all that night, my mind haunted as much as Koemi's eyes, by what if's and maybes.

-0-

Uchiha Sasuke didn't return the last few days of the academy, a good thing. Everyone was talking about the massacre, and some of the girls were talking about how 'amazing' and 'strong' he was to survive. I wanted to hit some of them. They shouldn't be gushing over him. He had lost his _family_, and they were talking about _dating_ him. I wanted to screech at them to just _leave him alone._

The worst though was Ino and Sakura. At first, I refused to get in between them, but when I heard them talk about ending their friendship, I had went off.

"What kind of person ends a two-year long friendship over some _boy_? I thought you two were better than that," I had snarled at them, my temper flaring. Clear disgust and utter annoyance drenched my tone that quickly pulled the entire class's attention. "Ino, Sakura, why on earth are you two doing this?"

"We can't be friends if we both like Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, frowning at me, as if she thought _I _was the idiot.

"Yeah, we can't," agreed Ino, glaring at Sakura. I took a deep breath, trying and finally succeeding in stamping my temper down enough to where I could at least keep my voice level. For the most part at least.

"When you two are ready to grow up, and see that you're acting like morons, come find me. I'm _done_."

With that, our friendship ended. I refused to be friends with people who would break off a friendship over a _boy_. While I certainly had done it before when I was a teen, I had grown up, and realized what horrible a kid I had been. If I could, I definitely would have gone back fixed those mistakes, instantly. I wasn't about to put up and watch two of my friends make the same mistakes I did.

It felt odd, being without them, but I had Shino, Naruto, Hinata, Lee, Gai and Koemi still, and that was all that mattered.

I still had friends.

-0-

A year had passed, peacefully and uneventfully. Nothing big happened, other than some fights I got into with Ino and Sakura. They often tried to talk me into being their friend again, but I refused. I stood by my claim. I wouldn't be friends with them again until they both just grew up a bit. I was still Top Kunichi and Top Rookie, though Sasuke tried valiantly to beat me. I ended up becoming friendly rivals with him, the two of us trying to beat each other on tests. If I lost, I would proclaim that with the power of youth, I would beat him the next time, and then make myself do 300 laps or pushups to make up for my failure. Gai was proud of me, as was Lee. Naruto was Sasuke's true rival though, the two of them going at it like cats and dogs. It was kind of fun to watch, not as fun as watching Gai and Kakashi though.

It was during the summer when I went to talk to Koemi about trying out an idea I had, making bojutsu to combat elemental techniques. One of the rules Koemi had was that I had to ask her before I tried any ideas out. She had taught me the simplest style that required a bo and then told me to make the rest up. Using a weapon was something that had to be taught, but after learning the basics, you could make your own style, if you wished. Koemi knew most bojutsu techniques, but that was because she wanted to be a master in the art. I didn't really want that, so she told me to make my own style, and then teach it to her. However, she wanted me to tell her my ideas, so she could tell me if someone already came up with it, or if it was too dangerous or impossible.

"You want to _what_?" Koemi gave me an incredulous look, a dango stick hanging out of her mouth, her eyes darker than normal. After the massacre, a lot of Chūnin were promoted because most Uchiha were ninja and there now was a shortage of Jōnin. Koemi had avoided it as much as possible, but she still ended up getting promoted. She was colder than before. She wasn't enjoying being a Jōnin, _at all_.

"You heard her," said Koemi's friend, Mitarashi Anko. Gai had introduced the two and they bonded over dango. Anko once joined in on a training session. Lee had been training with me then, and it was frankly, the most grueling session ever. Gai just proclaimed that it was very youthful. I had wondered how he was okay with Anko using snakes to get us to train, poisonous ones at that, and be against Koemi training me by throwing rocks at me, yelling at me to either dodge or knock them back.

"Why do you want to see if you can make bojutsu moves to combat elemental chakra?" asked Koemi, staring at me strangely. I sighed, knowing that this was going to be a while until she gave me permission to try the idea.

Koemi had often practiced by herself while I did katas she assigned. I had once seen her use a fireball technique, and had been intrigued by it. I had spoken to Gai who told me that most of these were hard to dodge or combat, unless you had the element that would cancel it out. My brain got working later when I saw Koemi doing a spin trick with her bo.

If you could spin the staff fast enough, you could suck the oxygen out of the air. No oxygen meant no fire. In my old life, that would be impossible, but here... it was very possible. My mind began to think up other ideas: smashing your staff into the ground to get dirt to fly up, covering water techniques, turning them to mud, using other spin tricks to make a huge whirlwind to go against a wind technique, things like that. I had to get permission from Koemi first to try things by myself though.

"Fine," said Koemi after a few minutes of pleading. "Not my fault if you collapse though, gaki."

I grinned at her, and ran off to try out my ideas, excited. I had already decided to use a different training ground than the one Lee and I used, so I wouldn't damage anything, and it was closer to the hospital, just in case of an accident.

Lee knew my plan, but other than him, Koemi and Anko, no one knew what I had planned. I didn't want anyone else to know.

I was going to be the strongest shinobi in the village, and this was my first step. I knew it was going to take a long time, to refine these skills, but I was going to give it my all.

I was stubborn like that.

-0-

"Why does everyone like him?" complained Naruto, giving Sasuke a dirty look. It was a few months into the school year, and almost all the girls were drooling after Sasuke, much to Naruto's annoyance. I rolled my eyes at Naruto, as I turned a page in my textbook. Shino was getting annoyed as well. Hinata sighed, looking at Naruto sadly.

"He's m-m-mysterious," she explained. I gave her a grin, pleased she only stuttered once. She was getting way better, more confidant, though I wondered if she actually had a speech impediment that made her stutter. I mentioned it to Gai, who told me that if that was the case, then we would have to be youthful and help her with it. Lee and I cheered about being youthful, while Koemi face palmed, shaking her head exasperated.

It was odd around Koemi and Gai now. They still bickered, and glared, but there was something else there. Anko kept snickering around them, along with Kakashi. I felt kind of stupid I didn't know what it was, but I really wasn't observant about people older than twelve. I was (kind of) good with kids, but not adults.

"It's stupid," decided Naruto, scowling. I nodded my head in agreement, turning another page in my book.

"It is. They only think he's mysterious because he's in mourning still. If he gets out of mourning, they'll lose interest."

"If?" Naruto asked, confused. I look up, seeing the puzzled expressions of my friends. Shino could probably guess what I was talking about, but he was young, something I often forgot because he seemed more mature than I had been in my old life. However, he was still just a kid, and I did have some experience over him. I also had Maya's ramblings to fall back on. Sasuke was important, I knew that much, but it was hard to remember why.

"Naruto, if someone murdered Shino, me, Hinata, Lee, Gai, Kakashi and Koemi, what would you do?" I asked.

"I would kill him!" shouted Naruto, jumping up, attracting the attention of the class.

"Exactly," I said, turning back to my book. "So, put yourself into Sasuke-san's place. His family is dead, and their killer is out there. I highly doubt he will ever come out of mourning until the guy is dead."

"Isn't Itachi his brother?"

"Yeah, and if Lee killed you guys, I would hunt him down and kill him," was my answer, ending the conversation. They were all taken aback. Lee was my brother, my idol. I would do anything for him, but I spoke the truth. If Lee killed everyone I cared about and then left, I would hunt him down and kill him.

At break, Sasuke nodded at me, before he went off to who knows where to ate by himself. I guess he was just happy to have someone who actually understood him in the class.

But thanks to that damn nod, I had to deal with rabid fan girls who thought I was stealing 'their' Sasuke-kun.

So wasn't worth it.

-0-

"Where's Tou-san?" I asked Kakashi when I spotted him in the kitchen one morning, a while after my conversation with my friends. Naruto, while he still disliked Sasuke, had lain off his yelling at him. It was kind of a truce in the classroom, one Iruka-sensei was grateful for.

"Oh, he and Koemi are out on a mission," Kakashi answered, not looking up from his book. He never let me near it anymore, not after what Gai had done to him. However, he still read it around me... when Gai wasn't anywhere near him. "He asked me to keep an eye on you two."

"Oh! HOW YOUTHFUL!" cheered Lee as he walked in. "Gai-sensei is worried about us!" he burst into tears of joy, and hugged Kakashi around the waist. Kakashi sighed, used to it by now, while I went to the cupboard.

"Why is Koemi-sensei out with him?" I asked, grabbing some cereal. Lee let go of Kakashi and grabbed some milk for the two of us, after grabbing some bowls.

"The Hokage is sick of them fighting. Anko suggested them doing a mission together, to make them bond," Kakashi replied, going back to reading.

"Ah," was my only answer before I went back to eating. "Why do they act weird around each other?"

"Not telling."

"Your cruel Oji-san."

"Yeah Oji!" Lee chirped. He had taken to calling Kakashi Oji-san a while after I did. It had been in front of a large group of Jōnin too. While Gai had been overjoyed by Lee's proclamation, the other Jōnin teased Kakashi relentlessly.

Koemi and Anko had a laugh riot.

"I know."

I left it at that, and went to the academy, wondering when Gai and Koemi would get back.

And hoping they wouldn't kill each other.

-0-

The trouble with sprinting fast enough to suck the oxygen away from the area around you, is that you have to figure out a way to still be able to have oxygen for yourself. The effect you wanted was the same, if not similar to placing a glass cup over a single flame. You wanted that flame to die, but you still wanted the oxygen outside of the cup for yourself.

I shook my head, trying to concentrate, as I spun in a circle, twirling my staff in front of me. I picked up the pace, increasing my speed and my staff mimicked the action. A burst of air greeted me, as the fire I had built beside me went out. I stopped my spinning, a large grin on my face, pumping a fist up, and then doubled over.

I was puking blood. I struggled to stop, to get to the hospital, when two hands grabbed me, the feel of healing chakra flowing through me.

"Are you alright?" asked a voice. I felt disoriented but I managed to focus enough to see a grey haired boy in front of me, with large circle glasses and a purple shirt.

"I-I think so."

"I hope so. Your spinning shook your organs up. You were bleeding eternally," he informed me. I stared at him, confused.

"How did you know I was... were you watching me?"

That was a creepy thought, as I yanked myself away, looking at him.

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, grinning a bit. He was actually kind of attractive when I got a second look at him. I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking? "I noticed you a week ago; you were muttering to yourself and drawing things in the dirt. I looked over the notes when you left, then I rubbed them out. I doubted you would want people to know what you're working on."

"You managed to read my notes?" I blurted out. I wrote in English, feeling more at ease with writing that then I did when I wrote in katakana.

"No. But I did understand your diagrams. They were simple." Ah, that made sense. I couldn't draw, even in my old life. So, I drew very simple stick figures. A toddler could figure it out. "I was curious if you could get it right."

"I think I did... but, I have to figure out a way to counter act the spinning or I have to learn medical chakra..." I said, sighing. He smiled at me, and offered his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up, nodding.

"How about I teach you a few things, and in return, you teach me some of your new moves." I look at him, thoughtful, and then nodded.

"I'm Rock Kyoko, by the way," I introduced.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto." He smiled again, and I found myself blushing. A memory at the back of my mind came to the front though, as Kabuto left to meet up with his team.

_"...anyway Mom, his name is Kabuto. He's like this medical prodigy, and super smart."_

_"Uh-huh..."_

_"Mom, are you listening?"_

_"You were talking about some character from Naruto. Honey, I'm studying."_

_"Sorry Mom."_

Well, that was cool. I was offered to be taught by a prodigy. But, my mind wouldn't stop trying to remember the rest of her words. I was pretty sure they were important.

Oh well, Kabuto seemed like a pretty nice guy. I'm sure it was nothing dangerous.

* * *

**A/n: **Done tests and school... a week ago. Really bad writers block, plus the extended cut of Mass Effect 3, my cousins wedding (I caught the bouquet, much to the chagrin of my other cousin) and babysitting.

So if this chapter sucks, I'm sorry!

Anyway... this chapter is choppy because I want to get to the action already. Backstory is boring. But it's needed. I did do some time skips though. She's like... eight in the beginning and then nine in the end. Skipped a year, yay!

Alright, explanations!

Ino and Sakura... this was hard to decide. I was puzzling over this for days, until I went with this. I don't think Kyoko would take kindly to this, at all. (She was a mother), hence her scolding and break up with the two. She still had friends, just not them anymore. I think this is a bit more in character for all three of them, instead of my original plan of having Kyoko convince them to remain friends. Will they become friends again? Maybe. Wait and see.

I did twae-kwan-do for three years, and we learned things quick. Kyoko was already training before she met Koemi, and then more training before she picked up a weapon. So it's understandable she would learn the basics quick. Also, Kyoko doesn't want to be a master. She wants to be strong. So, Koemi let her go, after teaching her the basics. She still helps, but Kyoko is free to do her own thing.

The idea of using a weapon against element manipulation is an idea I thought up after laughing that my chemistry teacher blew himself up again (weekly thing, I swear). I remembered, randomly, that fire needs oxygen, so i thought, "Hey, what if you cut off the oxygen around a fireball in Naruto?" So, ta-da! This was born! If it seems to odd for Naruto, she was a university student. (Even though it was done at home) She know things. (Based on the fact my brother knows weird crap from university.)

Okay, This was added for no reason other than character depth. Kyoko has trouble getting adults because she either was at home, studying, watching her daughter or working. She's good with kid emotions but a dead end when it comes to adults (if you can guess what's going on, you win a cookie!) But, she is an adult in memory, and while her personality is changing, she does have some adult thought processes. In this, she thinks about how she would react to the same situation as Sasuke.

Okay, I ask anyone, even the Sasuke haters, to think about what happened to him. If I was Sasuke, I would go after Itachi, happily. Kyoko would to. Even if Lee did it, she would. It's just a manner of putting yourself in other peoples shoes. Kyoko can, and she doesn't even know about the torture. Sasuke nods to her because they do fight over grades, but at the same time, she gets him, so he's happy for it. He knows the dark edges of the world, and so does Kyoko. And while Hinata, Naruto and Shino are all ninja in trainign, they don't really get the true cruelness of the world.

And finale scene. THIS TAKES PLACE IN LIKE MARCHISH! ALMOST 7 MONTHS AFTER SHE TALKS TO KOEMI! So, yeah, it takes a while. I wanted her move to be good and bad, it works, but it can kill her if she's not careful (spinning fast like that can't be good for you.) Kabuto looked at her 'notes', and was curious about what she was doing. I'm pretty sure (I looked on Narutopedia to be sure) that no one did this before. So, he watched her. He also was curious about the odd language.

Review please! Also, I'm working on a companion to this story, based on Koemi because I don't want to take long with the backstory, and most of her story takes place before Naruto graduates from the academy. Look for it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

A month after I met Kabuto, Koemi and Gai came back. However, it was not a marvelous happy return.

It was the opposite.

Koemi had apparently taken a beating from one of the shinobi they had run into on their way back. She ended up in the hospital, in critical condition. While Gai… Gai was a wreck, blaming himself.

"Koemi-sensei is a fighter," Lee attempted to assure Gai, the first time we went to visit Koemi. She had to go through multiple surgeries and was in a comatose state. Lee went on, almost to himself, "She'll wake up... right?"

"If she has something to fight for," was Gai's only reply, his normal demeanor gone. It wasn't like him, not at all. I was scared, and felt hopeless as he sunk into a chair, staring at Koemi's pale figure.

I only could hope she would wake up soon.

-0-

It took a month for Koemi to wake up. She was still badly wounded, and according to the doctors, she wouldn't be able to go out in the field anymore. Luckily, Anko was there to come up with a solution.

"Your joining T&I?" I asked, sitting on the chair next to Koemi's bed. She was kept in the hospital for a week after she had woken up, requiring some physical therapy.

"I may one day be able to walk without a cane, but until then I have to make do. Torture is easy, you don't need to be able to walk. In fact, a cane is actually a boon, makes people think you're soft," Koemi said casually, as she flipped through a book she had Anko bring from her apartment.

"I'm actually terrified for the people who you will be torturing," remarked a voice. I turned to see Kakashi entering the room.

"Hey Hatake," said Koemi as I hugged the man. "Is Gai with you?"

"Nope, still doing his punishment for letting you get hurt."

I groaned at that while Koemi rolled her eyes.

"Idiot," she said, flipping through her book again. It was a photo album, but that was the extent of my knowledge. "Tell him I don't blame him, and to stop being so dramatic."

Kakashi just shrugged and took a seat. I pulled out one of the books Shino lent me and began to read as silence fell over the room. Koemi ended up falling asleep after a while, so I left, Kakashi following.

"Do you think either of them will realize they like each other?" Kakashi asked.

"Wait, what?" I said, whirling around. "They like each other?"

Kakashi chuckled, ruffling my hair.

"Yep."

He then left in a swirl of leaves.

"Wow... am I dense or what?" I remarked out loud, before I took off to hang out with Lee, shocking him by sneaking up behind him and then jumping on his back, screaming, _dynamic hung!_

Lee's face was always a classic after that.

-0-

A few days before Koemi was allowed out of the hospital, Taro decided to pick up on tormenting me. He had stopped for a bit, but was back in business, ready to piss people off.

"Oh, look, it's Dork Lee," taunted a group of boys, Taro being one of them. Lee ignored them, as he did pushups during free time. I was sitting nearby with Shino, pouring over a book about bugs. Naruto was off doing punishment work. "I see your sister is showing that she's just like any other kunoichi, only smart in books."

"I'm _barely_ under you in the taijutsu ranking," I pointed out to Taro, looking up from the book. The boys around him laughed as he went pink.

"Well, at least I don't have a freak for a brother. Maybe that's why your parents died, so they wouldn't have to face the shame of having him for a son."

I froze, as Lee lost concentration and dropped. In an instant I was up, pure cold rage twisting my face into a viscous snarl as I lunged at the _dead little brat!_ My lunge was quickly intercepted though as arms wrapped around my waist. I snarled, struggling against them.

"Let me go," I growled. "I want to kill the little sonova bi-"

"Calm down Kyoko," Shino said firmly, as he held me.

"You're so desperate for family, you accepted the biggest Jōnin freak as your _Tou-san_," mocked Taro, confidant in the fact I couldn't get him. I struggled, my rage consuming me. I itched to hurt him. To just _hurt him very badly._

I hissed, "I call a Grudge match. You and me, at taijutsu practice. All out, weapons allowed."

Taro just smirked. "Done."

Shino released me as I stilled, the anger inside of me still burning a white cold. My hands clenched and relaxed themselves into fists as I allowed Taro and his little group to walk away unscathed.

This time.

I was done with playing around. I was going to end Taro for good.

The time until the match, I couldn't focus. My blood kept pounding through my ears. Taro was full of confidence, and kept bragging that he would beat me into the ground. Naruto was actually the one trying to keep me calm. Shino was furious, like me, and his bugs kept buzzing agitatedly. Sakura and Ino kept giving me worried looks, and then looked at Taro in disdain. I didn't care.

Taro was _dead_.

-0-

"Rules are; no permanent injuries. It goes until one person forfeits or is knocked out," Iruka said, watching the two of us. I had my bo out, the staff a comforting weight in my hand. Taro had asked me if it was the crutch I would need. I just ignored him. "Ready..."

Kakashi and Gai had shown up for this, simply watching from the outskirts of the training yard, as did a few other shinobi. I had seen a few taking bets, and wondered how fast news traveled in the village. I felt like I was back in high school, how quickly gossip had traveled there was about the equivalent to how fast it traveled here.

"Begin."

Iruka moved out of the way as Taro launched into an attack. I dodged it, and lunged the end of my staff at his ribs. He dodged it as well, flipping over backwards to do so. I rolled my eyes. Purposely showing off to the older shinobi. The fool. We walked around each other, studying each other carefully.

Taro was the fifth best in the class for taijutsu. He was taller than most kids, which gave him an advantage, as well as stronger. He had a natural ability with it. Our senseis often praised him for it. However, Taro never really practiced. He held his high spot because he was a natural, and because of his physical size.

"So, Dork. What will happen when you lose?" asked Taro in a bored drawl. "Will you go cry to the pathetic loser your call Tou-san? Or maybe you'll go and sob to your freak of a brother."

I ignored him, simply following his movements with my eyes. I spotted and opening, and took it, running at him, feinting and then slamming my staff into the ground, using it to propel me into him, slamming my feet into his chest, knocking him back.

He staggered back, his face morphing into disbelief while I felt such a grim satisfaction at having landed a hit on him.

I felt a smile creep onto my face. It felt _so good_. I would make him pay. I would make him pay _dearly_ for what he had done and said to us.

_No_ _one_ would ever mess with my family.

The fight went on for a while, the two of us exchanging blows for blows. I was satisfied each time I hit him, and irritated each time he hit me back.

After about five minutes, he managed to get behind me, and grab on of my braids, yanking hard on it.

"Shit!" I yelled, dropping my bo on reflex. He kicked it away, and then kicked my legs out.

"I win," he said smugly. Iruka stepped forward, about to call the match, as some of the shinobbi watching began to collect money. I then spotted it.

Koemi was there, wrapped up in a blanket, leaning on a cane, but still there. She looked at me with a sadness in her eyes. Gai, who stood next to her, had a look in his eyes as well. It was disappointment. They were upset.

_I, Rock Kyoko, will be stronger than any boy in the village!_

_How youthful!_

_Kami Akane... she reminds me so much of you._

"No... you... don't!" I hissed, my hand going to my weapon pouch and yanking out my own kunai. I didn't go for his hand. There was a chance I could miss and hit my head. No, I went for my braid. I cut it right off, and rolled away from him. He stood there, dumbfounded, holding the chopped off braid in his hand.

"I promised I would be the strongest shinobi in the village. You really think I'm going to let someone like _you_ stop me?" I taunted. I cut off my other braid, and then threw my kunai at Taro, forcing him to dodge it. I made the release sign and yelled out, "_Ju, Kai_!"

I felt my arms grow lighter, as I reached down and yanked off the weights that were on my legs.

"You think a couple of pounds will-" I threw them at him, making him dodge. They slammed into the ground behind him, picking up a large cloud of dust and leaving a crater behind.

"I also just released weight seals," I remarked, before I ran at him, faster than he expected, and slammed my fist into his stomach. He tumbled over, gasping. My knee went up, and he flew backwards, landing a bit away. He jumped up, wheezing, but I managed to grab my bo, and I spun it, as I ran, making him unable to tell when I was going to use it. He tried to use a kunai on me, but I knocked it out of his hand, and tripped him. I knelt on him, and slammed the bo into the ground, right next to his head.

"Forfeit," I growled. Taro answer by struggling, trying to get up. "I said _give up_, idiot."

"No," the boy snapped. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine." I raised my fist and punched him, knocking him out. I got off of him, and used my weapon as a crutch, taking deep breaths. The adrenaline was leaving me, making me shaky.

"Winner, Kyoko," Iruka announced.

"ALRIGHT!" cried Naruto, pumping his fists.

"G-good job!" called out Hinata, smiling at me. Shino nodded, a smile hidden behind his coat. The shinobi watching all paid money to Gai and Kakashi, who grinned happily. Koemi just smiled.

I grinned lazily, before passing out from exertion.

-0-

The weeks following my win were quiet. Taro had dropped out of the academy, now working in his family's store. The bullies left me and Lee alone, and Koemi was out of the hospital for good. Anko now lived with her, taking her to T&I every day. I ended up cutting my hair into a more stylish bowl cut, deciding not to grow my hair back out.

It was a nice time, until I noticed Lee looking sullen.

"Lee what's wrong?" I asked during one of our runs. Normally, it was full of laughter and fun as we raced each other, but he hadn't grinned or laughed that day the entire time.

"Nothing."

I stopped and frowned. That wasn't like Lee at all.

"Lee, please. Talk to me," I pleaded. He ignored me, so I ran in front of him. "Lee, please!"

"Why do you care about me? You're getting trained by a weapons master! You beat one of the best kids in your class, you have Shino to help you with the ninja world!" Lee growled, and put on some speed as I froze.

I was such an _idiot_. I guess even being mentally older still made me as short sighted as any nine-year old... probably even more so.

"LEE!" I called out, running after him. I tackled him to the ground and sat on him glaring. "_You_ taught me how to walk. _You_ were the one to tell me stories. _You_ were the one to take care of me when I was sick. _You_ were the one to train with me for hours on end. _You_ were the one I swore my oath with."

I wrapped my arms around him and said, "You're my _aniki_. I'll always need you."

He didn't speak, his eyes wide and already watery. He hugged me back, tightly.

"I love you imouto."

"I love you aniki."

We still had issues to work on. I, myself often felt like the third wheel when we were with Gai, but I knew we would work through it.

We were Rock Lee and Kyoko after all. Stubbornness ran in our veins.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry about how lame it was. I got my wisdom teeth pulled out, and I'm currently on pain killers and antibiotics.

Anyway, new chapter. I lost my muse for both Lotus stories, so I decided to just try and write a chapter for this. Black Lotus is a dud, so it will turn into a one shot series with random stuff about this story.

When i first wrote this chapter, it had Koemi in a coma the entire time, but that sucked, so I changed it to her dying, then I wrote this (while under the influence of pain killers) I hope it makes sense.

Lee's reaction is in character I hope. He seems the type to feel unneeded by his sister after all that.

Also, the hair thing... I love that scene, so i put my own version it. Thats all I have to say.

ALSO! I ask all artist out there to do me a favor: i really want a picture of Lee and Kyoko doing each others hair. I can't draw Lee (at all), so if someone could do that, I would be in your debt, and I will post it as the cover for this story... if I have two, I'll use the other for the one shot series.

Review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**Beta: DarkPetal16**

* * *

I had never been in Koemi's apartment before, mostly due to the fact I was often busy doing something else. However, Koemi had decided to move, mostly due to the fact her leg often gave her trouble going up stairs, or through the window as most shinobi did. She was moving to a ground floor apartment, in the same apartment building Lee and I stayed in. Gai was still trying to make up for the mission, so he had already taken most of the heavy objects. I was tasked with going through the dresser next to Koemi's bed, sorting through the many things she kept in there. Despite her attitude, she was actually quite sentimental about stuff, so she had gained (_hoarded_ more like) a lot of things over the years, though she had (grudgingly, reluctantly) admitted it was time to throw some stuff out.

It was fun looking through it, mostly because everything had a story to it. I would randomly ask why something was in there, and Koemi, who was going through her old clothes, would give me a story.

"Why is there a wedding cake topper in here?"

"First C rank I went on. We escorted a man to Suna to meet his wife. It was an arranged marriage, so he was nervous. As soon as the two met, they hated each other, hurling insults left and right. The man didn't want the topper as a reminder, nor did his wife, so I took it. I think... nah. I got pictures, toss it."

A few of them were funny, and I had to laugh at how she said it, often casually, or smirking the entire time.

"A broken kunai?"

"First date. He was a civilian, and obviously never dated a shinobi before. He tried to get lucky, I tried to stab him. He was faster than I thought, and I got the table. Punched him right after, then kicked him. Keep the thing, I wanna remember how he looked when the other girls in the restaurant came up and kicked him while he was down."

However, there were a few of them that reminded me the dangers of a ninja's life.

"Why do you have a plastic skunk in your dresser?"

"Oh, gift from a friend. I'm keeping it, so put it in the box."

"Why would someone give that as a gift?"

"Reiko was often teased for her hair, so when she left the orphanage and needed a last name, she picked Sukonku, showing she wasn't ashamed. She bought that for me as a joke, because I told her to keep her hair in a ponytail, so it would always look like a skunk tail. She never dyed the stripe, and wore it proudly."

"What happened to her?"

"She was a fan of explosives, like that clan with the mouths on their hands. She had a vest filled with explosive tags. As a joke, we called it her suicide vest, because she packed enough tags to destroy five blocks. She was on a mission when it went south. Her orders were either, get the information, or destroy it. She was cornered and alone."

She said no more, but I knew I could read between the lines.

I learned a lot about Koemi, such as the fact she lost her parents to the war and was raised by her older sister, Akane. I'd heard her mention the name before, but knowing it was her sister made quite a difference. Akane, according to Koemi, was very stubborn, and determined. She had a sense of honor and was very loyal to the village. The way Koemi spoke of Akane made me realize how much she missed her sister, which also brought the realization that Akane was most likely dead, or a missing-nin.

When I reached the bottom the dresser, the garbage bag was almost full, while the box had very little in it. There was a photo album in it, along with some nick-knacks that had been gifts, a few were from someone she refused to speak of.

There was one last thing in the dresser, a frame. I picked it up, and looked the picture in it. It was of a pretty woman who looked a lot like Koemi, though she was much more feminine. She had the same 'kill me now' look that Koemi had around Gai for the first few months. In front of her were three kids, obviously a Genin team. The older kids glared at the child in the middle. My eyes were drawn to him, because after all, everybody knew what Uchiha Itachi looked like.

"Your sister was Uchiha Itachi's sensei?!" I blurted out. Koemi, who had finished with her clothes, the boxes taken by lee and Gai, looked up from the scrolls she was looking through.

"I-I forgot that was in there," muttered Koemi, as she stood, ignoring her cane. She walked over and sat on the bed, taking the picture from my hand. "Akane's first and only Genin team. Watanabe Dai, the boy, and his twin Rui, had failed the exam twice, and were so happy to make it, until they realized that the prodigy was on their team. Akane loved those kids, despite the fact she often wanted to throw them off a bridge. It killed her when Dai and Rui didn't survive the Chūnin exam."

"Why did she nominate them?" I asked, curious. Koemi sighed, looking older than her twenty-one years claimed.

"The Head of the Uchiha clan insisted on it, forcing her to do so. Sad thing was, only the Watanabes cared about Dai and Rui, everyone else was fawning over Itachi."

"Were you close to Itachi at all?" I hesitantly asked. Her odd behavior after the massacre would have made sense if it she had been. No word came from her, as she stared at the photo.

"I thought I was." Her voice sounded bitter as she tossed the picture into the keep box. "Come on, your boyfriend will wonder where you are for your lesson."

"Kabuto is not my boyfriend!"

"The blush on your faces shows you want him to be."

I felt my face just burst into flames, as I ran after her as she limped out of the room, grabbing her cane on the way.

-0-

After my talk with Koemi, I ended up noticing myself observing Sasuke more and more. I recognized the same look in his eyes as Koemi had when she first heard the news. It was still there, but she seemed to lose it when she hung around Anko or Gai, or Kakashi, who she finally stopped calling Hatake.

I was worried for Sasuke. Depression was a bad thing. I had never witnessed it before, but I had heard of it, and seen it on the cop shows I used to watch. Sasuke, while I did agree with him, was slowly spiraling into a black hole.

I ended up being paired a lot with Sasuke when I was ten. Lee was training in his final year, and I was trying to stay on top. Iruka-sensei paired us together to try and strengthen us. We camped out, and hunted and sparred together, Sasuke proving he was not just a natural but also well trained. I never beat him, but I tried.

He was the first one to notice when my strength began to outrun me. He spotted me smash my hand into a tree, and make a dent in it. He didn't say anything, but he did buy camping materials made out of stronger metals. He didn't help me, not really, when I freaked out about my strength, after breaking a glass by picking it up. While the others struggled to tell me that I was fine and it didn't matter, he simply handed me a box of ninja tools made from very strong metals.

I think that helped me the most.

I didn't become friends with him, I was more like a… not-enemy than anything. However, he did seem to be more relaxed around me after I returned the favor of gifts by giving him a set of arm guards that cost me a fair price.

I just hoped that I could help him.

-0-

"Come on Kyoko, you've been healing bruises for weeks," Kabuto said, pushing his glasses up as I concentrated on healing the small cut on his arm. I was getting better at minor healing jutsu, but I hadn't tried to heal a cut yet.

My slow uptake on jutsu had continued on. I was nowhere as bad as Naruto, but I was still bad at picking up jutsus. Kabuto seemed to be my saving grace when it came to the use of most of my jutsus. He was a hard task master, but it reminded me of Gai a bit.

After a minute, the cut began to heal over, making me grin, and push harder. When it was completely healed over, I collapsed, thanking Kami that I was already sitting down. I laid on the ground, puffing, as Kabuto inspected his arm.

Lee had just graduated, causing us to have a huge party for the new Genin. He was so happy to have graduated, and even more ecstatic to learn Gai was his sensei. I met the team every once in a while. I got along well with TenTen, and ignored Neji most of the time. I had seen his treatment of Hinata, and often wanted to punch him in the face. However, I did get pleasure in watching his face when he saw me train, no weight or seals.

I ended up breaking my hand with one of my punches against a tree, but it was worth it. However, with Lee and Gai preoccupied and Koemi with Anko half the time, I was alone in training. Kakashi, while he was a nice guy, had no patience teaching me. So, I turned to Kabuto. The two of us met weekly, but we now met almost daily. He wasn't a very patient teacher either, but he was a good teacher. He also helped me figure out a way to combat wind chakra. Other than be faster than the casting, you could also fight wind against wind. The weaker wind would lose against the stronger. I wasn't sure what my elemental type was, but I practiced a few spin tricks to see if I could combat large bursts of wind. If they were weaker than my 'vortexes' as Naruto called them, I would win.

"You're doing well," Kabuto said, smiling at me.

"So are you. You picked up on the bo spin pretty quick." I replied, sitting up slowly. I felt a bit dizzy.

"It's so good to see the youth of Konoha helping each other out," a voice spoke, startling us. I turned to see a woman dressed in a medic-nin's outfit, smiling at us. "You two boys keep it up."

I felt my eye twitch as she left. Despite the fact I liked my hair, most strangers thought I was a boy, my growth spurt did nothing to help it either. I was getting sick of it. I believed that my braids were a hazard, but being mistaken for a boy was annoying.

"I'm not sure why everyone thinks you're a boy." Kabuto said, interrupting my thoughts. I turned to him, seeing him smile at me. "You're too pretty to be mistaken for a boy."

He left after that, off to do a shift at the hospital, leaving me with a flaming face, and one thought.

"Damn it, Koemi was right."

My only consolation was that at least he was a nice guy. All my old crushes (or boyfriends in general) were jerks, or simply two faced. Kabuto seemed to break my bad luck streak with guys.

Yes. It was a nice change in pace.

* * *

Sorry about the wait. School, and my brothers birthday coupled with me trying to write a book for real made me lose my muse.

Anyway, this is another filler, I plan on having her genin test next chapter. I didn't want to much here, it would be to forced. I also wanted to show Koemi's past, more out of the knowledge that it will come up later.

Okay, when my friend proofread this, she thought Kabuto was OOC, but I think he's in character.

He's tricking Kyoko into thinking he's safe. Her crush on him is very obvious, so he's tricking her by using the crush.

I also want to tell you guys that in 'Lotus Garden', I have a gender bender story showing how different Kyoko would be as a guy. Second chapter for those who are interested.

Review please!


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

My crush on Kabuto worsened as I went through my finale year. I was always blushing around him, and seemed to get tongue tied quickly. Anko had figured it out, and delighted in teasing me. Koemi did as well, but she wasn't as bad as Anko.

Shino was quite knowledgeable about my crush, due to my gushing about Kabuto. People found it odd I would gush to him, but he was my closest friend, the person I went to when I was angry, the one who I had sleepovers with, and the guy who was always there for me.

"He is so smart," I sighed, a smile on my face as I thought about Kabuto. "He gave me a book on elemental chakra the other day, and he actually had an idea on how to combat earth chakra. I just slam my bo into the ground, and thus disrupt the earth, ending the jutsu! We haven't tested it yet, because I want to make sure I can slam it down hard enough, but he's helping me."

I sighed happily. I was at Shino's house, having a sleepover. Gai and Lee were on a C-Rank mission and Koemi was off brooding about missing her boyfriend or something. I decided to sleep at Shino's to get away from her.

"You're very infatuated by him," Shino remarked, not looking up from his book. I blushed, and nodded, smiling happily. "Did you know there are four different bugs that can kill you in Water country?"

"Ooh! Let me see!" I demanded, jumping on his bed and looking at his book. I grinned, seeing the bugs on the page, and _ahhed_ at the pictures.

I loved having my best friend being as bug nerdy as me.

-0-

I had taken to watching Lee's team practice when I had free time not devoted to training or friends. I had long since developed a dislike for Neji, for his behavior towards Hinata and Lee, but now, I felt like punching him every time I saw him. I settled for making his life miserable whenever I watched their practice.

"Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast?" I asked Lee during one of their sessions. Lee had just come up with it, and looked incredibly proud of it. "Really?"

"Of course! It is a very youthful name!" Lee smiled, his teeth flashing. I grinned back, agreeing. It was very Lee.

"It is foolish," muttered Neji, scowling at Lee. Tenten rolled her eyes and continued to try out all her 'shiny new toys'. Anko had found out about the girl's love of weapons, and had given her a whole load of them. I heard Neji had cursed the Snake Mistress's name for a few days after that.

"I think it's very youthful," Gai sighed—a little exasperated, probably from dealing with Neji all day. According to Tenten, Neji belittled Gai at first, until he saw his true ability. He still was very snobbish about his constant love of youth though.

"Tou-san!" I asked suddenly, feeling a bit evil as I grinned right at Neji. "Can I have a nickname like you and aniki?"

Gai and Lee froze, before I was grabbed and pulled into a giant hug.

"HOW YOUTHFUL!"

It took three hours, full of exclamations and loud shouts, but I got a nickname, and Neji seemed to despise my presence even more than before. I counted that as a win.

I also loved my new name. Konoha's Beautiful Lotus. Simple, yet it sounded... almost as it was perfect in every way for me.

-0-

It was about a week after I got my nickname that Koemi and Gai's relationship exploded. She had taken his team aside to talk to them, and after Gai learned what she had talked about, he flipped.

"YOU ARE INCREDIBLY UNYOUTHFUL!"

"They were going to have to learn it some time. Hyūga especially. Kidnappings happen more often for clans. Turns out, he already knew. Tenten too. Lee was the only one who didn't," Koemi said, as she ate her dango. I just stared. It was on one of the days that Koemi didn't feel like teaching and just dragged me to a dango shop along with Anko. Shino and Naruto were with us, Hinata in clan training. Shino was watching with an amused expression while Naruto was obviously entertained.

"It was not your job!" Gai yelled, looking furious. I frowned, trying to think about what they were talking about.

"Oh, so you wanna wait then, until they get kidnapped?" Koemi looked annoyed, her hand tightening around the dango stick, making it break with a loud crunch.

"I WOULD NOT LET THAT HAPPEN!"

"My sensei said the same thing yet my teammate _never came back_," Koemi hissed, jumping up from her spot and ending the statement with a scream. "He let him get hurt, and if I have to piss off the person I've been in love with for the past few years to make sure it never happens to any Genin again, I damn well will-"

Her voice cut off, and she blinked owlishly at Gai, who stared back, his mouth open. "Did I..."

"Yep," I confirmed, chortling. Naruto grinned and held out his hand. Shino popped down some coins, scowling. I just handed Naruto a coupon for ramen. "You did."

"Oh..." Koemi looked stupefied as Gai shook himself and then grinned.

"Oh, my Black lotus, will you go out with me?"

Koemi took a moment, but she blurted out her response, just as Anko came in.

"_Black Lotus_?"

-0-

Anko and Kakashi made a bundle on who would confess first. I heard every Jōnin in the village bet on Gai. Koemi was too 'strict' according to many, to do such a thing. Ino and Sakura ambushed me after that, demanding to know the gossip behind it. I was pleasantly surprised that they had taken a vow to put aside their differences so they could grill me. They also reminded me of my promise to let them pick out my clothes for my Genin career.

I went along with it because I had truly missed the girls. Hinata was fun to hang around, but she wasn't as a good a friend as Ino or Sakura was. Hinata had (somewhat) gotten over her shyness, but Ino was in your face and a very vengeful person. Sakura had a temper, but she would stick up for her friends. Hinata would stand up for her friends, but she would try to make them see reason. Ino and Sakura would just beat them up.

"I knew that Koemi would say something first," Sakura crowed, as she dragged me into a shinobi and kunoichi supply store that had some nice shirts. She picked up a green sleeveless one, and held it up to me. She frowned. "How tall are you?"

I rolled my eyes. I had hit a growth spurt and grown a lot. However, Lee was also tall, and the dim memories of our parents I had reminded me they were also tall.

"I actually don't know," I remarked. "Taller than Shino, and you... and Ino... and Hinata... and Naruto..."

"Everyone's taller than Naruto," dismissed Ino, as she picked up a pair of black pants. "So, it really was an accident? Her blurting it out?"

"Yeah, they were fighting and she just blurted out she was in love with him." I picked up a new belt/sash.

"Black looks better than the brown I use," I muttered. Ino agreed with me as Saskura shoved a large size shirt in my hands, along with the pants Ino had.

"Go change," she ordered. I gave mock bow and headed to the change room. They followed, eager for gossip. "So, he just asked her out right then?"

"Yeah. He called her his 'Black Lotus' and asked her out. Anko had so much fun with that," I answered, changing and coming out in my new clothes.

"That is an awesome outfit," Ino said, smiling. Sakura slowly nodded in agreement. They still were 'rivals' but they did share similar fashion tastes. "But your hair..."

"I miss your braids. We could have done so much with that hair," Sakura sighed. I ran a hand over my short hair. I had grown it out a bit, disliking how much I looked like a guy with it, but now it resembled Lee's hair, before he got a bowl cut.

"You know, a feminine bowl cut would look nice..." Ino mused. I sighed, but resigned myself to the fact I was getting a full makeover.

I was just happy I had extra money saved up from using Lee's clothes for years.

-0-

I got home late that night, Koemi and Gai still up. The two were on the couch, Koemi reading while Gai rubbed her leg. She had to put some cream on it once a day, to soothe her muscles.

"You look pretty," Koemi said, smiling when she saw me. For once she looked like a girl herself, her hair loose and in her face. She also wasn't wearing her vest, so it was easy to tell she was a woman.

"Thanks," I said grinning. "Ino and Sakura are willing to help you as well."

"No," Koemi deadpanned.

"My Black Lotus is perfect the way she is," Gai said loyally.

"Good boy," Koemi said, going back to her book, as Gai got a good look at me. He began to cry over my _youthfullness_ and how _amazing_ I was.

"I can't wait till all the boys see her." Koemi said, grinning. Gai froze, as I stared at Koemi in horror.

"NO BOY WILL EVER GO NEAR MY LOTUS!"

Koemi smirked at me as Gai ranted, hugging me to his chest and sobbing. Lee came into the living room, realized what was going on, and joined in.

"NO ONE WILL TOUCH MY IMOUTO!"

"IF ANY BOYS GOES NEAR HER, I WILL TEAR HIM APART!"

"I WILL USE THE PRIMARY LOTUS ON THEM!"

"I WILL BREAK EVERY BONE IN THEIR BODY USING MY PINKY FINGER, AND IF I CAN'T DO THAT, I WILL USE MY FEET!"

"You're evil," I hissed when I managed to escape the two. Koemi just grinned.

"That's for betting on my relationship."

"What did you do to Anko and Kakashi?" I asked, worried a bit.

"Told Ibiki that Anko is in love with Kakashi, the two were secretly dating, and planning to get married soon because Anko is pregnant."

"Why Ibiki?" I asked, curious about why she would tell him that.

"Ibiki is a good secret keeper, but he is a gossip king. Anything that isn't classified, he blabs. He also has unfinished business with a prank of Anko's."

I stared at Koemi.

Sometimes, she scared me.

-0-

"Good job," Kabuto said, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently. I grinned up at him, feeling a little dazed. Kabuto had taken to patting me on the shoulder, grabbing my hand or even hugging me. I felt overwhelmed with the silly childish hope that my crush was returned. I often pushed it aside. Kabuto was seventeen and while I knew many people with age gaps, I was twelve. Not nearly old enough for _anything_. "So tomorrow, it's your graduation."

"I have to pass my test," I pointed out. Kabuto scoffed, putting an arm around my shoulders, making my cheeks heat up.

"You'll pass with flying colors. You're the best shinobi in your year." I grinned up at him, feeling my heart beat faster as he smiled back at me.

"Thanks Kabuto-sensei!" I said, hugging him, and feeling a thrill course through me when he hugged back.

"Soon, that's going to be weird hearing you call me that," remarked Kabuto. I looked up, confused. He gave me a smirk and left to help at the hospital.

I just felt completely thrilled, and a little confused.

Maya's words about him seemed to ring in my mind, but they were foggy and distant. I had changed so much from the worried mother I had been, and while I was terrified about losing my memories of Maya, I felt lightened that I was never going to be as foolish as I had been before.

After a bit of pondering, I brushed off my worries. Kabuto had my trust. He was a very nice guy, and I felt happy to know him.

-0-

My test had been quite easy, though it did take concentration to use my chakra. I still wasn't the best at it. I preferred taijutsu to anything else, though based on who I lived with and was raised by, that wasn't too surprising. Even Koemi was more of a taijutsu specialist than a ninjutsu user. Kakashi had shown me tricks, but I still wasn't the best.

I watched as Naruto came out of the class room, looking very upset. He was devastated from the looks of it. I spotted the reason. He didn't have a headband. I bit my lip, my hand going to mine, wrapped around my upper arm. I didn't deserve this. He did. He put up with all the crap heaped on him. I had seen how people treated him, yet he would just put a smile on his face, like nothing else mattered.

I wanted to follow him as he left, give him a hug and tell him everything was alright, but Hinata stopped me.

"He needs to be alone now." she said, before she dragged me off to show Lee my headband. I bit my lip, turning my head back to see Naruto on the swing, talking to Mizuki. I smiled, and turned back around.

At least someone was being nice to him.

-0-

The next day, Naruto was at his desk, with a headband around his forehead.

"Did you get a retry?" I asked eagerly, running up to him, and sitting beside him. Shino followed at a more sedated pace.

"Yeah, I did," Naruto said quickly. I frowned, realizing he was omitting something, but then one of the kids in the class made a fuss about Naruto.

"Oi, shut up," I snapped as Iruka came in. "Naruto may suck with chakra control, but he is probably the only person I know who has enough will power to light up Konoha."

Iruka rolled his eyes as I started a fight with the idiot.

"He's the dead-last!"

"And you can't even last in a fight with him."

"He cheats!"

"In a real fight to the death, there are no rules, so there should be no rules here!"

"DORK!"

"Oh, original."

"Okay you two, break it up," Iruka ordered as he pulled out a sheet of paper. He then gave a speech on how we were shinobi and supposed to uphold the Will of Fire, and the whole shebang. I stopped paying attention after a while, and instead began to shift my bo that I wore strapped across my back. Sitting was awkward with the thing on.

"Alright, now... team one will be..." I started to pay attention then, watching as my classmates were grouped together in teams, some people sobbing, some cheering. "Team seven will be, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and..."

* * *

Kyoko... you are very, very naive about Kabuto and Mizuki. Very much so.

Blame her classes, she would have paid attention to Maya's ramblings.

Also, I AM A NEJI FAN! **_I_** know his past. Kyoko doesn't. All she sees is a bully who picks on her friend, her brother **_and_ **her father figure. So, yes. She is going to taunt him and make fun of him. Yes it is childish, and she should know better, but as I said before, her personality and mind are changing... and I'm an adult and I still do childish things.

Anyway, FINALLY! THE BACKGROUND IS OVER! Time for the fun to begin. 8D

Review please!


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

**NEW ART! This is of Lee and Kyoko! Link on Profile.**

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

I want to address some review I got about Lee's chakra thing. I know he can use it, but can't mold it. However, how would they know it? As far as they know, he can't use it because they never did water-walking and tree-walking in the academy. Later on they found out, but at that time, they didn't know. So I will not be changing it.

* * *

"...Rock Kyoko." Naruto had been sulking about being on Sasuke's team, until he heard my name. The cheer he let out, matched my own and soon the two of us were hugging each other tightly. Shino looked a little disappointed, which I had to admit that I was as well. I had hoped to be on his team, along with Naruto. I resolved to try and spend as much time with him as possible. We would not lose our friendship.

Shino was placed on a team with Inuzuka Kiba and Hinata. I _was_ a little jealous of them. They all knew each other due to the fact Inuzuka's often ended up on the same team as Aburames, and Hinata was already Shino's friend. They knew each other and tolerated each other.

It was better than my team.

Naruto, despite the fact he no longer hated Sasuke, did still dislike him and while Sasuke tolerated me... he had no tolerance for Naruto.

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

I groaned as the two glowered at each other. Previously, I had tracked down Sasuke-dragging Naruto with me-in a vain hope that we would all eat lunch together. I angrily stabbed at my lunch, feeling annoyed they couldn't at least _try_ to get along. Rivalries were fun to watch, mostly Gai's and Kakashi's, but not when they were idiotic like theirs.

_Snap_!

I blinked, looking down at my chopsticks. I had gripped them too hard, snapping them in half. I groaned, but pulled out a new pair and began to eat again. Ever since my strength had grown, I had trouble with many things. I snapped chopsticks, broke cups and on one occasion broke a desk. Even the kunai, Sasuke had given me were replaced twice. I had trouble figuring out what was too much, and what was too little. Being irritated definitely didn't help the situation.

"Mirror, what are you eating?" Naruto asked suddenly. I looked up, my chopsticks in my mouth, to see Naruto staring at my meal with disgust.

"Rice and tofu," I said, after I had chewed.

"You like tofu?" Naruto asked, looking sickened.

"Tofu is good for you!" I defended myself. "I like tofu!"

"What about ramen?" Naruto demanded, holding up his cup. I gave a half shrug.

"Ramen is okay, but I prefer tofu or dango."

Naruto scowled at me.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked a bit, and I sighed as the two began to argue again.

"SHUT IT TEME!"

"Maybe if you ate properly, then you wouldn't be such an idiot."

"TEME!"

"See, you can't even come up with a good comeback."

"You-you-"

"Hn."

Naruto jumped up, ready to attack Sasuke, but I grabbed him by his collar and yanked him down, hard.

"Shut the hell up, both of you. Or I swear, I will force you to," I snapped, indirectly breaking my chopsticks again. I sighed at that, pulling out yet another new pair.

Our lunch was very quiet after that. I just smirked when Shino asked me how I ended up forcing them to get along when we got back to the classroom to wait for our sensei.

Never underestimate a girl who can break logs with a punch.

-)-

He was late. Our sensei was late.

"If this is Oji, I'm gonna tell Tou-san he was very unyouthful today," I grumbled. Naruto snorted, as he grabbed an eraser.

"You picked up on torture from Koemi-sensei and Anko, didn't you?"

I shrugged in response, as Naruto set the eraser above the door.

"Naruto, at least use that as a distraction. If it is Oji, he's just going to let it hit him because he couldn't care less."

"You have anything?" I frowned, and then took off the scroll I carried on my sash.

"I think I have some... ah, yep. I have chalk." I didn't often carry scrolls, but this had been a graduation gift from Koemi. It was her old scroll, and filled with useful things. Also some odd things, that according to her, could become useful, though how a geisha outfit could be useful was beyond me.

After Naruto set up his trap, I managed to find the kanji for cards on the scroll. Naruto and I began a game of poker while we waited. Sasuke didn't want to play for a bit, but changed his mind when he was bored enough to join in. Naruto beat us five times.

"You have evil, demonic luck," I muttered, scooping up the cards. Naruto flinched for a second, making me frown. Why would he flinch? Maya's voice drifted in the back of my head, but the years had dimmed it. I was lucky I still remembered how to write and speak English, but everything else was fading.

I hardly remembered my mom. I knew how she was, how she treated me, how she cared for me, but I couldn't remember her face. My brothers and sisters were the same. My whole family, all were fading.

Maya was too. I knew she looked like the old me, except for her grey eyes. But... I couldn't remember her face. Kami, she was slipping through my fingers. My baby was slipping away. I felt a rising sense of panic and anxiety churn through me at this. My baby! My baby!

"Kyoko!" Naruto's voice broke me from my thoughts, making me grab my staff on reflex. "Are you okay? You looked scared!"

"I'm fine, just thinking," I muttered, grabbing my cards and shuffling them. "How about we play Blackjack, change it up a bit?" Naruto didn't look happy about my deflection, but he agreed. We were about to start when the door opened and Kakashi came in, the eraser landed atop him. The eraser was covered in bright pink chalk so when it hit, his normally silver hair took on a pinkish hue. Naruto and I burst into laughter at that. Sasuke just looked bored at our antics. I was pretty sure he would warm up to them in a bit, though. Shino put up with us after all.

"My first impression of you all is... I hate you," remarked Kakashi casually. I pouted.

"Jiji, I'm your cute niece who's flames of youth burn brightly!"

Kakashi twitched a bit at that, making me hide a grin.

I wasn't a complete fool. I was aware of how some people reacted to Gai. Kakashi was one of them and as my honorary uncle, the funniest to tease.

"You're the worst one," Kakashi said flatly, before he jerked his thumb up. "Meet me on the roof."

He then vanished in a puff of smoke. I quickly sprinted up the stairs, as did Naruto. Sasuke followed at a much more sedated pace. Kakashi was already reading his book, looking as if he had no care in the world. I sat down, smiling happily.

Kakashi was one of my favorite people in this life and not just because I considered him my uncle. He was amusing, in a dry sort of way, with a sense of loyalty that was often missing in both worlds. He was a great person to know and I was glad I knew him. I wasn't sure of his feelings for me, but I hoped he thought of me as family. I knew he was fond of me at least.

"Now, I'd like you to tell us a little about yourselves," Kakashi said once we were all sitting down. "The usual; likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future. Broody, you first."

Sasuke scowled at Kakashi, but obeyed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have plenty of things I hate, but I don't see how that matters, considering there is almost nothing I like." I frowned a bit. That couldn't be heatlhy... "It seems pointless to talk about dreams, that's just a word. What I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan and there is someone I have sworn... to kill."

Nope. Not healthy at all. Was that even _sane_?

I really wanted to hug him right then. He needed a mom.

"Naruto," Kakashi remarked, waving a hand lazily at Naruto, who launched into his own introduction. I didn't fully listen, too busy worrying over Sasuke. Maya's voice drifted through my head.

_... he betrayed Konoha..._

I frowned. There was a future traitor in my generation, but for the life of me I couldn't remember who it was. I felt anxious and nervous at that. A thought drifted through my head, as Kakashi turned to me, asking me to introduce myself.

Am I ready to be a ninja?

"I'm Rock Kyoko! My likes are training, bugs and my family. I dislike bullies, unyouthful people, and I hate cats-"

"Why cats?" Sasuke asked. Naruto cackled as I twitched a bit. I hated cats in my first life and after a run in with Lee's team after they had been forced to catch a cat named Tora, just solidified my hate them even more.

"They are the devil in furry form," I growled, glaring at a spot on the floor. "My hobbies are training, studying bugs and practicing medical jutsu. My goal is to be the strongest shinobi in this village!" Kakashi seemed amused by me, while Naruto cheered happily. Sasuke just grunted.

"Formal training begins tomorrow," Kakashi said lazily, pulling out his book.

"What are we doing?" Naruto asked, grinning. Kakashi smirked as he read his book. I was fifty percent sure he only fake read the book to annoy people. There was no way you could read that thing so many times, even if he did have different volumes. Or maybe he really did read it. You never knew.

"A test." I frowned. Lee hadn't said anything about a test when he became a Genin, just something about teamwork.

"But, we already did a test!" Naruto yelled out.

"That was the first part of the test. This is the second part." Kakashi chuckled evilly.

"What's so funny Oji-sensei?" I asked, fiddling with the strap across my chest.

"The test has a sixty-six percent failure rating." My mouth dropped open and I just stared at him as Naruto screamed.

"WHAT?!" Kakashi just chuckled, and told us to meet at the training grounds the next morning.

"Unless you want to throw up, don't eat breakfast," was the last thing he said before he vanished.

I frowned, watching the spot where he had been. Why would we have a test while Lee hadn't? I pondered that, as I left. My brain was blank, no helpful hints from Maya popping up. But something told me there was more to this than what Kakashi said, something deep within my mind.

I would figure it out, I swore. Then, I wondered if Kakashi realized his hair was pink.

I was pretty sure I would find out later.

-0-

I watched as my teammates glared at each other. Kakashi was three hours late, again. I really wanted to go home and tell Gai what Kakashi was doing. I had skipped breakfast, following Kakashi's orders, and my stomach was screaming at my stupidity. Koemi hadn't given me any advice and according to Gai, it would be unyouthful for him to tell me anything about what could happen. Lee followed Gai's advice and kept his mouth shut.

"YOU'RE LATE!" screamed Naruto as soon as Kakashi showed up, hair once again silver. I glared at my uncle. Once was enough. Gai was being told.

"A black cat crossed my path and I had to go the long way." Anime sweat drops didn't exist in real life, but if they did, the entire team would have had one at that excuse. He put down an alarm clock and held up two bells in is hand. "The object is to get these bells. Whoever doesn't, is tied to that stump, without any lunch." I felt like smacking my head against a tree as Naruto groaned. Well, weren't we smart to listen to him. "As there aren't enough bells to go around, one of you will end up on that stump. Furthermore, you will be sent back to the academy, in disgrace." The three of us froze in shock. "You must come at me with the intent to kill me, if you want to win."

Kakashi started the timer, and we scattered in opposite directions.

The test didn't seem right to me, like there was something missing. I racked my brains as I climbed a tree a bit off from the clearing, near the small lake. Maya had a huge crush on Kakashi until it switched over to Shikamaru, so she often watched the anime scenes with Kakashi in them over and over again. I had to have seen this test at least once. As I thought, I was dimly aware of Naruto and Kakashi fighting, even spotting it a few times. I rolled my eyes as Kakashi pulled out his book. He wasn't even going to pretend to be serious, was he? I thought as I searched my brain. A phrase drifted through my mind.

_"Those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who-"_

"A thousand years of death!" got my attention. I whipped my head over to see Kakashi poke Naruto right in the butt, causing him to fly into the lake. I dropped my face into my palm, trying hard not to giggle. I had to remember that, it was actually a good surprise attack. Kakashi disappeared, leaving Naruto in the lake. I frowned. Why would he leave one of his students in a lake, without making sure they were okay? I climbed out of my tree and walked over to the waters edge, keeping and eye out.

"Naruto, you okay?" I called out. He came up, gasping, but gave me a thumbs up. I nodded and took off further away.

I had to figure out a plan to beat Kakashi, he was stronger and faster than me. He was a jonin and I highly doubted I could land a hit on him. When I sparred with Gai I always ended up being beaten into the dirt. I had no hope, none of us really did. The only time I had ever come close to beating Gai was when Lee and I worked together and even then we couldn't bring him down. Kakashi was on Gai's level, maybe even higher up. How could we beat him by ourselves?

"Hello," a voice said from behind. I whirled around, yanking my bo out of its spot on my back. I slammed it into Kakashi, who disappeared with a puff of smoke. I spun around, my feet sliding into position. I looked around, trying to spot him. A noise came from my right. I turned to see what it was.

I screamed so loud, I wouldn't have been surprised to wake the dead.

Lee stood in front of me, beaten half to death, gasping for air, his arm holding in his guts. His orange leg warmers were missing, and his legs were badly cut, as if someone had taken a sword to them.

"Imouto-" he said, coughing, before he dropped. I closed my eyes tightly, repeating over and over,

"No, no... no... no..." I dropped to my knees, my bo slipping out of my hand. I clutched my stomach, staring at the body in front of me. "No, please no." I whimpered, closing my eyes. "NO!" I slammed my fists into the ground, hard. My right hand struck a rock, sending a shock of pain through my body. I opened my eyes again to see nothing. No body, no blood. Nothing to show that Lee had been there, in that condition.

My mind spun for a second before I realized what had been going on.

Genjutsu. I felt foolish for falling for it. I should have realized what was going on. I had little skill with it, my top scores coming from my taijutsu and written scores more then my ninjutsu or genjutsu, but I should have at least been able to recognize it. I stood and left the spot, not wanting to remain there in case Kakashi found me again. I ran through the trees, carrying my bo in a tight grip. I made it to another clearing near the one I had been in, finding Sasuke buried up to his head in the dirt.

"Sasuke, you alright?" I asked, walking up to him, eying him warily. I wasn't taking the chance this was another genjutsu.

"Do I look alright?" Sasuke snapped, agitated.

"Did you honestly think you could beat Oji in a fair fight? He's a jonin," I pointed out, as I began to dig him up, using a kunai and my own hands. I hadn't brought Koemi's scroll with me, thinking I wouldn't need it. Now I wished I had. It probably had a shovel in it. Sasuke scowled at me, which I ignored. "The only time me and my brother ever beat our Tou-san is if we use teamwor-"

I dropped my kunai, my mouth open.

Well, wasn't I smart.

-)-

Convincing Sasuke that the entire idea behind the test was teamwork was hard. He didn't buy it, at all.

"How is one of us suppose to beat him? He's one of the best!"

"Then only two of us need to work together, we don't need the dobe," Sasuke said in a monotone. That had been his argument for the last five minutes. I had manage to dig him up, after a while, but it ruined my kunai.

"How many teams do you see with only two people?!" I snapped, feeling very annoyed. Sasuke glowered at me, but I knew he had to agree with my point. "Now come on, let's go and find him!"

I grabbed Sasuke by his arm and pulled him along, racing to the lake, hoping Naruto would be there.

He was stuck in a trap near it, hanging upside down. I had to stifle a chuckle. He looked ridiculous, hanging by a foot.

"Dobe," scoffed Sasuke upon seeing him. Naruto shot him a dirty look.

"TE-" I smacked Naruto on the head, followed by a smack for Sasuke. I glared at both of them, feeling more than a little irritated.

"I am hungry, tired and I was caught in a genjutsu that showed my brother dead. I am not in the mood for your petty squabbling. Now, shut up, and let's get to work," I ordered. Both boys nodded (Sasuke a bit more reluctant) and I released Naruto from the trap. "Naruto, that clone thing I saw you use, they're solid?"

"Yeah!" He grinned at me. "I learned the technique when Mizuki tricked me into stealing the Forbidden Scroll!"

"He tricked you?" I asked, confused. Was that what the had been talking to Naruto about?

"Yeah, he was a traitor." Naruto scowled. I filled the information away, and focused on Naruto.

"Swamp him." Naruto opened his mouth and I shook my head. "Not like before. Don't go in yourself, hang back. I'll get rid of my weights and join in as well. Sasuke, your the best in ninjutsu. Any useful ones?"

"None that could work on him," muttered Sasuke. "The katon jutsu did surprise him, but I don't have enough chakra to risk using it again." I frowned, crossing my arms and trying to think. I wasn't the best at thinking on my feet. I liked to have a plan that had been thought of weeks before. I hated sudden changes to things.

"Do you have ninja wire? The clones and I could distract Kakashi while you and Naruto get a trap ready to wrap him up. I can steer him towards it." Sasuke nodded, pulling out some of it. "I think we have a hour left, so let's do this fast."

I yanked off my leg weights as Naruto summoned over fifty clones. I then unleashed thirty gravity seals, feeling my arms significantly lighten.

Kakashi was in the clearing with the clock, waiting for us. The Narutos rushed at him, as I came up behind. I used two of them as a spring board, flipping through the air and landing behind Kakashi. I slammed my bo forward into his knees, which he dodged, throwing a clone at me, which I dodged. I came back for another hit, but Kakashi pulled out a kunai and blocked my hit. He took his attention off a clone, who slammed its fist into his stomach. Kakashi dispelled it with a harsh chop, as I pulled my bo away and aimed a kick. I missed as he dodged and I hit a clone, which dispelled with a puff.

I was slammed backwards by Kakashi, who hit me right in the chest. I ran a quick medical jutsu over it, fixing up the bruising as ten more clones came out of nowhere, running at Kakashi. I jumped back into the fray, flipping over a clone and aimed for Kakashi's head. He brought up his kunai and stopped my bo. I was much shorter than him, so it was easy for him to shove the kunai forward, ripping my bo from my hands.

It flew over my head and off the the other side of the clearing, which I didn't pay attention to, as I slammed my foot into Kakashi's abdomen, missing his lower area. Kakashi didn't flinch much as he knocked me back once more. I was slightly winded, so I kept out of the fight for a few seconds, taking deep breaths, trying to get my wind back.

The clones began to drive Kakashi away, heading towards the part of the forest I had left the boys at. When he was bit of the way there, Sasuke came out of the trees and attacked, helping the clones. As soon as I was sure I wouldn't have any problems, I jumped into the fray, not bothering with grabbing my staff. It was to dangerous to use in a brawl like the one we were having anyway. I could hit a clone or ever Sasuke. I would be fine with just using my fists.

One of the clones gave a startled shout when I missed Kakashi and slammed my fist into a tree, breaking off a large part of the bark. The clone had to dodge the bark so it wouldn't be dispelled.

"Sorry!" I said quickly, chasing after Kakashi. I made a quick seal, restoring ten gravity seals. Maybe I wouldn't be okay simply using my fists.

Sasuke and him were in a small battle, both dodging and weaving around each other. I ran up to them, dodgign a clone. Sasuke spotted me, and jumped backwards just as I ran up, grabbing my arm. I used him as springboard, using the momentum he gave me to launch a hard kick at Kakashi, which I managed to land on his chin, forcing him back a bit more.

The real Naruto jumped out when we were near the spot I was sure the trap was located. He made more clones and threw a haymaker widely, managing to hit Kakashi as he dodged one of my own punches. I grabbed Naruto's arm and slung him up, as Sasuke jumped, the two managing to hit Kakashi in the chest from the surprise double attack. We drove him right to wear the trap was and a clone set it off, letting us jump back as the wires wrapped around Kakashi tightly.

I was surprised he wasn't slipping out of it, but I figured he probably knew what we were planning a head of time, and went along with it.

"So, who gets to go on?" Kakashi asked. Naruto handed a bell to me and then he hesitated, before he handed one to Sasuke.

"Oh, no," I said, grabbing Naruto by his jacket's collar. "You get this one." I shoved it down his jacket, making him yelp at the cold metal.

"Well, then I guess... you all pass!" Kakashi said cheerfully. Naruto and I cheered happily as Sasuke just smirked.

"Those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse then trash," Kakashi said as he slipped out of the wire. "You never abandon your teammates, for anything... nor do you tell their rivals they were late for meetings."

"Only if you never do it again." I was sure he would do it again, but right then I didn't care as I cheered with Naruto, and forced Sasuke into a group hug. We were ninja.

-0-

"You passed," Kabuto congratulated, smiling at me. I had run into him as I was heading home, ready to tell Gai and Lee what had happened during the day. I grinned happily up at him. "So, who are your teammates?"

"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto," I replied as I skipped along. Kabuto's eyes glinted for a second, before he grinned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, giving me a hug. He left right after, having to go to the hospital, leaving me to finish my walk. I frowned, remembering Naruto's words on Mizuki. I was a horrible judge of character in my first life and had hoped my second life had changed that. It seemed I was wrong.

I knew some people were good people; Lee, Koemi, Gai and Kakashi to name a few, but who else could I trust?

A thought drifted through my mind, and I turned to look back to where Kabuto had left me. Could I trust him? He'd never given me any reason not to trust him...

"Neither did Mizuki..." I whispered, as I approached my apartment. My thoughts were troubled as I climbed the stairs to my apartment. I would have continued to think, if Lee hadn't jumped out at me and hugged me tightly, crying with joy. I laughed and hugged him back just as tightly. Gai's arms wrapped around me, lifting me off my feet with his hug.

"You passed, Imouto! You passed!"

"Kakashi said you were the one to figure out the idea behind the test!" cheered Gai. The two dragged me into the apartment, intent on holding a celebration for my win.

I stashed away my thoughts, dismissing them. Kabuto was my friend and as such he would have my trust, always.

* * *

Hope you like! :) Had horrible writers block through the whole thing, but I think I did okay. Wanted this chapter up before my report card, so I pushed it. My parents are strict with grades, so if I don't update for a few months, I probably didn't get the grades they wanted and thus I will be banned from all electronics. I won't abandon this story, I promise!

I didn't bother writing much of Naruto and Sasuke's fights with Kakashi because we know what happened. The fight scene I did write is short, but that's because you can only write 'kick, punch, kick, punch, knocked back' so many times before it gets boring. Also, Kakashi probably heard them planning, and let them win. He did put up a fight, but he just let them win because they had figured out the idea behind the test. Originally it was going to be a huge fight from the beginning but then I realized: Kyoko would have no idea what the test is really about. So I kept it as close to canon as possible, though I did have Kyoko figure it out. I figured she could.

I have to ask: is Kung-Fu Fighting or I'll Make A Man Out Of You A better theme song for Kyoko? XD I was bored and thinking about her theme song. I have on planned out for her, much later on, but right now I want her theme song to be something silly or sweet. Ideas are also welcome.

Review please!


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

*Deleted old chapter eleven, re-uploaded this one*

* * *

Life was actually pretty simple after our test. We would meet at the bridge, and wait for Kakashi to show. Often, we would play cards or train. I got a lot of practice healing bruises and cuts, as well as bandaging up wounds I couldn't heal. I felt more like a mother then I had in years, my mind cast back to the days when I was patching up Maya after a fall or when she cut herself.

"Your both foolish! Stop trying to kill each other whenever you spar!" I scolded the two about a month after the test. I was bandaging up a large cut from a shuriken half way healed on Sasuke's arm.

"But Mirror-chan!" I turned around and smacked Naruto on top of the head, annoyed.

"Naruto, stop it." I said firmly. "Or else." Naruto pouted, but agreed, sitting sullenly beside us. Our teamwork sucked, even though I tried to make them get along at least a little. I would have settled for non-lethal spars, but the two never listened. It was like I was dealing with five-year-olds... who were allowed to kill people.

"Yo!" Kakashi appeared then, causing Naruto to jump up and yell,

"YOUR LATE!" Kakashi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"There was a cat stuck in a tree, so I had to get it down."

"I wonder what tou-san would think of you being late all the time?" I asked, my daily ritual as well.

"How about we see if we can catch Tora?" I scowled at Kakashi, shuddering a bit. I hated that cat. Evil thing. We hadn't been assigned to it yet, but I did run into Lee and Shino after they had caught the cat. Both times they were carrying it...

I really hated cats.

"Wow, how youthful are you today oji-sensei!" I cheered, hamming up my act as I grinned, striking the 'Good Guy Pose'. He ignored me, but I got Naruto to shudder, so I was pretty fine with that.

"Lets go get a mission." Kakashi said, as we walked away from the training ground. The four of us walked through Konoha, heading towards the tower. Naruto was chatting away happily to Kakashi who either was ignoring him, or actually listening, I wasn't sure. I just pondered what I could make that night. naruto and Shino were both coming over, so that was... six people in total to feed, unless Koemi was late interrogating someone. Or if Lee and Gai got a c-rank...

"You know it's pretty rare to see all male teams." remarked a civilian near the tower. I scowled at them as we passed, feeling very annoyed.

"How many times does that happen?" asked Kakashi upon seeing the look on my face. Naruto was snickering and Sasuke had a big smirk on his face.

"It's not my fault I'm androgynous." I grumbled. "I'm only twelve, I'll grow sooner or later."

"Androg-what?" Naruto asked as we entered the office.

"It means I don't really look like a girl or a boy. I'm in between." I grumbled, as we joined the crowd.

"You look more female then male." a voice said. I grinned at Shino when he came out of the crowd, followed by his team. Hinata smiled at us while Kiba grinned widely.

"I don't know, she certainly acts like a guy." I glared at Kiba in answer, crossing my arms over my chest. I wasn't a fan of Kiba, he was always someone who I knew I should like because of his similarities to Naruto, but I had an issue with his constant 'macho man' routine. He always tried to be the head of the class, but his actions grated on me.

"Go play fetch." I spat. He laughed, his dog joining him. I was pretty sure Kiba didn't like me much either, due to his constant teasing. Koemi had once joked that he probably had a crush on me, but I knew that it wasn't true. We just hated each other, pure and simple. I didn't like his alpha dog routine and he hated me constantly insulting him... childish but it was fun.

"You know, shouldn't you two get along, being dog people?"Kakashi asked, turning a page in his book.

"I may hate cats, but I'm more of a bug person then I am a mammal one... that reminds me, Shino, did any of your relatives find any cool new bugs?" I turned and asked excitedly. Shino nodded, and we were pulled into a discussion that lasted until we were in front of the desk.

"Ah, Team Seven and Team Eight." The Hokage said, puffing on his pipe. The first time I met the Hokage, I at first thought that he was to old to be a ninja that could fight well, but then I heard Koemi complaining about how older ninja were tougher to break, because 'they saw it all and did it all.' That got me thinking.

The average life span of a shinobi is about twenty-five to thirty years. Koemi, Gai and Kakashi were all in their late twenties, nearing old age for a ninja. The Hokage was sixty-nine years old. That was dinosaur age for any ninja. The fact he was still alive, living through two terms as Hokage, made me respect him. He was the strongest ninja in the village, and could kill me in a second if he wished. It was a daunting thought, because I had always through that the old were weak, at least in my first life. In this world, that wasn't true. The strongest ninja were the older ones, and if you ever had to fight one, you had to run away. You had no chance, no matter what anyone said about youth prevailing. Youth was a powerful thing, but against someone like the Hokage? You had a better chance at soaking up the oceans with a piece of tissue paper.

"We have two d-rank missions left." Iruka said, as he shuffled some papers. D-Ranks were annoying missions, but I saw the appeal in them. They taught you valuable skills if you bothered to look. It was like when I had forced Maya to join Girl Guides, you pick up things that would help you later on in life.

Weeding a garden taught you how to tell the difference between plants, picking up garbage in a river taught you how to keep balance and it strengthened your leg muscles, while walking dogs taught you how to keep your eye on more then one client. It also 'showed' the civilians that we weren't dangerous killers all of the time, just most of the time. I wasn't a fan, but I would do them with minimal complaint.

"Team Eight isn't allowed to catch Tora anymore after last time." Kiba grinned as Akamaru barked happily. I froze, my eyes wide as it dawned on me. "Team Seven hasn't had that mission yet, so it will fall to them."

Naruto burst into laughter at my face. Kakashi chuckled a bit.

"I guess my threat won't work anymore." All I did was glare.

-0-

"This is Lotus, I see the target."

"Pin-wheel. I see it as well."

"I can't."

"Cyclops, I see it."

"Naruto, your not in position."

"Oh, got it!"

"Dobe."

"TE-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" I was not in the mood to deal with them. I did not want to deal with the cat, and I would not listen to them bicker for hours. Kakashi chuckled over the radio, before he spoke in a firm tone,

"Engage."

We tackled the furry monster as one. I landed on top of it, but it was ready for me. It scratched it's claws right down my face, narrowly missing my eye, and when I tried to snatch at it again, it jumped on my face, biting my ear. I ripped it off, holding it tightly, but it managed to squirm away, and then attacked again.

This time it went for my scalp.

"GET THIS THING OFF!" I screamed, trying to get the cat off my head, where is was hanging for all it's worth. It jumped and ran as soon as Naruto got close. Sasuke grabbed it before it could get far, and I glared at it. "I hate cats."

We were paid, with me glowering at the cat who was being smushed against his owner, the woman simpering over him happily. I really hoped she would kill it with a hug, I never wanted to go near that thing again.

I got home that night, passing by Koemi and Anko, the two of them on her porch. Koemi took one looks at me, and smirked.

"Tora mission?" Anko cackled, leaning back in her chair.

"Nice. I suppose that it decided your face was perfect to launch off of." I glared at them, as they teased me mercilessly, storming up to my apartment to tend to my scratches. I needed to disinfect them, before I healed them. If I didn't, I ran the risk of infection. I dug up the supplies, scolding myself for not remembering them before. As I began to apply the chemical to may face, I moodily realized that Koemi was never going to let me forget the fact a cat had got the best of me... again.

I prayed we would never have to do that mission again, I would give anything not to have to.

-0-

"Tora escaped again." Kakashi said cheerfully, appearing at the bridge, an hour late. Our spar hadn't lasted as long as normal, so we were playing poker while waiting, Naruto raking it in.

"DAMN IT!"

* * *

**A/N:** I guess you can tell what my decision was.

The truth was, I at first was all for re-writing the story, but after some awesome reviews, plus a talk with my family and friends, I decided to stick with this. Why? Because, this story is the longest I've written, **ever. **I've done ten chapters, and counting. I haven't been flamed yet, and I've actually met some people who give awesome ideas. I have no complaints about my story, other then a distaste for the first few chapters, but hey, if the rest of the story is awesome, why should I care?

I may re-write this in the future, but that's not any time soon. I'm just going to focus on making this story amazing. And for those who wanted me to re-write, well, I actually have some other Self insert stories written down. I haven't actually fleshed them out, but I often think of them, so I may end up writing them one day. I even have one already half-written up as a kind of one-shot. Just watch and see if your prefer those to this.

This chapter is a bridge between the mission to Wave and their exam. I didn't want to write a whole month, because it would just get repetitive. At the same time, I wanted to show how Kyoko handles the Tora missions. So, here we are. I tried to make the fight between Kyoko and Tora funny, but I'm bad with humor. And the scalp thing actually happened to me... hence why I hate cats. Yes, Kyoko inherited my dislike of them.

I also included a bit of what I think of her as. I may draw her feminine, but in my head, she's very androgynous. I like making those types of characters, because you can develop their personality more. She's going to grow more, and probably will end up looking like a girl later on, but right now... I'm having fun with it.

Review! And thanks to all who reviewed before!


	12. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

Inspired by Dreaming of Sunshine mostly. I own only Kyoko, Maya and some other oc's, oh and a bit of the plot. Everything else, not mine.

* * *

Dinner in the apartment was always an interesting feat. Gai was a very good cook, despite thoughts to the contrary, and had taken it upon himself to always cook, unless he had worked himself into unconsciousness, then it fell to me, as Lee was only able to make curry and the less spoken about Koemi's cooking skills, the better.

Koemi had arrived an hour earlier then expected, her face haunted. I sat with her, the two of us reading while we waited for the boys to show up. It took twenty minutes before she said,

"Gaki, just ask."

"You hate needless pain," I spoke softly, taking the opening. "You hate causing pain, and you hate killing. However... you work in T&I..." Koemi sighed, and rolled up her pant leg, showing me her leg. Her brace was on, so she could walk without her cane, a feat that hurt her more often then not. I looked at her leg, and held back a wince. It was twisted, and weak, the large scar running from knee to ankle where her bone had literally been pried from her body.

"I hate being useless. I fucking hate it." I looked up at Koemi's face, twisted with hate and anger, "I was wounded, when I was seventeen, and I lost my sister because she stayed behind to give me and the other team members time to run. I've hated being useless ever since, trained as hard as I could, became a master with a bo, and became one of the best chunin in Konoha, if not the best." Koemi closed her eyes tightly. "I lost my ability to be in the forces directly, but... I won't ever be useless again, so I'm sticking with the T&I department until I lose my usefulness there."

"Your not useless Koemi!" I protested, slamming my book shut. "Your still the best bo master, and you can still teach me!" It was true, she still did practice, but she had to take breaks, and her spars with me were awkward and slow. I wouldn't go for her weak spot, and she couldn't move fast enough to give me a challenge. Koemi sighed, and looked at me sadly.

"Gaki, it doesn't change the fact I feel useless unless I'm helping Konoha in any way I can... my sister died fr me, when I was weak, and I swore no one would ever die for me again." Koemi rolled down her pant leg, before she turned to me. "I'm grown up now, and I know that there was a reason she did it. She loved me, a lot, and I know that if it had been the other way around, I would have been the one telling her to 'Never ever give up, never betray and always love'." She smiled a bit. "Her favorite phrase, and our family's unofficial motto. I forgot the last part... until a certain gaki stumbled upon me, and asked me for lessons." Koemi ruffled my hair, gently and tenderly. "Your face when you spoke that day... it reminded me of Akane. The girl always made an oath and saw it through. Your idea of being the strongest got to me, and I decided to see how far you would go. Didn't expect you to mean your promise." She pulled me into her side.

"What about Gai and Lee?"

"Those two? I didn't like Gai, not just because he seemed so... foolish." she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Still is, but I also disliked him because Akane was every so often mocked because of her oaths, though she wasn't as flamboyant as Gai about them, but some mocked her because she alwas forced herself to meet her goal. Not many people thought that a kunoichi could become a front battle ninja. We mostly end up being in the S-Corps." I frowned, not recognizing the term, but she did not elaborate on what the corps were. "I pressed a bit of hate onto Gai because I had heard people taunt her with oaths of their own. Lee was just a kid, so I didn't fully care about his oaths, and he later became more like you when I ended up teaching him a more fluid way to throw a kunai." Koemi had an odd way of throwing her weapons compared to me and Gai. Lee had adopted her style because it was more natural for him. "Gai... you know, it was a month into knowing him that I started to like him. I just taunted him to rile him up. He was so funny when angry." she chuckled, shaking her head.

"Glad I could amuse you my Black Lotus." Gai's voice rang happily though the living room. The two of us turned to look at the boys, dripping wet, mostly likely from swimming, carrying take-out containers that reminded me of those Chinese take out boxes. "We bring food!"

"What's the occasion?" Koemi was amused, as she took a container, opening it. I grinned, ginger beef. I loved that stuff, in both lives. Many foods I had known didn't exist here, I was mourning the lose of pizza, but many other did. Chinese food did exist, something I was glad for. I liked that food. Tofu was the still best though.

"How did you know?" asked Gai, looking startled.

"Because your a health freak who only buys this stuff when it's a special occasion." Gai smiled brightly.

"Lee opened the Third Gate today." Koemi froze, her eyes wide. I had heard her yelling at Gai when she first heard he was teaching Lee how to open the Gates. From what I got, they were incerdibly dangerous. Koemi disagreed with Gai's ideas on them, but ended up giving up. No point in arguing with him on something like this. She did force a promise that he would never help Lee open more then five though.

"Good job." Koemi said, grinning at Lee, who sat across from her. He grinned up happily, eating his rice.

We spent time, simply speaking. I told a few tales about school, while Lee talked about Tenten and Neiji. Koemi spoke about Anko and her obsession with getting Koemi into a trench coat.

"She claims it's T&I custom to wear one. I pointed out most people in the department don't. She told me Ibiki wears one, as does she. Crazy woman." Koemi chuckled, leaning against Gai.

"And she's your best friend." I said, grinning. Koemi ruffled my hair, grinning at me.

"That she is. Now, let's here about how you and Shino are working out?"

"He's my best friend!" I protested, giving her a look. She laughed, and nodded, as Gai and Lee grumbled. Everyone always brought up the friendship between me and Shino. We were hardly apart, and the two of us did sleep in the same room during sleepovers, but I had no interest in him, he was my closest friend my age, and frankly, I was a much older woman in my head, I was not willing to be with a twelve year old.

"I know, but you two are so much fun to tease." I rolled my eyes, and shoved a piece of shrimp into my mouth as Koemi and Gai began to discuss Tenten training under Anko. Gai was for it, but Koemi pointed out that a second Anko would just scare everyone.

"How is your training going imouto?" asked Lee, watching me. I grinned at him, swallowing my food before I spoke.

"Amazing! I can heal cuts now, and I can do the replacement! I still over shoot it a bit." I was alright with the academy jutsu, but the replacement often went wonky for me. I was getting better though. I was off only by a foot the last time I had tried it.

"That's great!" he flashed a grin, and I grinned right back. The rest of the meal was spent simply talking. Eventually, we ended up sprawled around the living room, Koemi sleeping on Gai, who had claimed the couch. His snores didn't seem to wake the woman. Lee was sitting sideways in the arm chair, his head laying on the arm rest, while his legs hung over the side.

I looked at the calender, and smiled sadly.

"Merry Christmas." I whispered, before I joined my family in sleep, my dreams full of what I had lost, and what I had gained.

* * *

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 8D Sorry about the quality, came up with this in literally two days. Will later put this in Lotus garden, till then, enjoy!

Working on the next chapter, but I wanted to write something for you guys, so this little thing popped into my head. Fluffy family, a bit of an insight on how Koemi views everyone, and of course, fluffy romance! (Gai/Koemi is my OTP!)

Next chapter will be up, but I'm constantly looking back in my manga to try and get it right. I don't watch the anime because I hate watching anime. (English dubs suck so bad, and I can't find a good Japanese version with subtitles.) May take a bit, so i hope you enjoy this little snippet. It takes place before Kyoko joins her team, but I think it's perfect for Christmas.

Happy Holidays everyone!


	13. Chapter 12

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

* * *

I found that threatening to kill Tora often let us off the hook for that mission. We still had to do it, but not as often as some of the others did. It was after one of those missions that Naruto snapped, yelling out that he wanted a C-Rank. I just stood back and watched. We needed at least one C-Rank to qualify for the chunin exams, but I wasn't sure if I was ready, mentally that is. My past life was slipping away each day, and though I ended up writing down as much as I could recall in English in a notebook I had found, I was terrified. I didn't want to forget, I didn't want to loose my memories of my baby, of my family. I could barely remember who she was.

I was in a down-whirled spiral and soon, I would break. I just knew it, and I was praying that I could level out eventually, before I could fully break.

"What do you think Kakashi?" asked the Hokage, bringing me out of my thoughts. I focused on the now, and ignored the future. i could worry later. "Is team seven ready for a C-Rank?"

"I believe so." Kakashi said lazily, nor even looking up from his book. I scowled a bit, but reminded myself of the punishment Gai had made up after I got fed up with Kakashi's habits and tattled to Gai. He had been shocked that Kakashi was so unyouthful to come late everyday, that he took it upon himself to wake Kakashi up everyday at five thirty, much to the horror of my sensei.

I had a good laugh over that for a week. Kakashi got me back by getting the Tora mission assigned to us for two days in a row. I had some pretty nasty scratches from that demon. It hated me more then it did Naruto, who loved to taunt me about Tora's dislike. Sasuke didn't outwardly show any sign of teasing, but finding catnip outside my door for a week straight made me pound him hard when we fought.

"Send him in." The Hokage ordered. We turned to see our client, my brain going into overdrive when we spotted him. Mid-sixties, large belly, drunk obviously. I wrinkled my nose upon smelling the sake wafting from the man. He wasn't just drunk, he was smashed. I really hated that smell. Any alcohol made me queasy, though my old teenaged years had been spent drinking the stuff by the gallon.

"These are the ninja paid to protect me? Three scrawny boys? The tall one looks like a strong wind will push him down, while the short one looks like an idiot." the man was blunt, and I could appreciate that, but right then, all I wanted to do was punch him.

"Mirror-chan is not a boy! And I'm not stupid either!" Naruto yelled at the man, pointing rudely at him. I grinned a bit, but then frowned, and slapped him upside the head.

"It's rude to point Naruto, for the fiftieth time!" I gave him my best mother glare, which he shrank from. The man snorted, and drank his sake, before speaking again,

"My name is Tazuna, and you three are to protect me, with your lives." Well, wasn't he dramatic.

The rest of the day was spent gathering up our things, and getting ready for the mission. We were to leave the next morning, because Tazuna was drunk, and had to sober up enough for the journey.

I packed quickly, only taking three pairs of clothes, after all I could wear clothes two days in a row and we were heading to wave country, alot of water was there I could use. Even streams I could use to wash clothes. My gear was always ready for a mission so I simply packed toiletries along with my clothes, determined not to blush as I pack ninja grade lady products away. I was not looking forward to this mission if I actually started my 'time of month' but it never hurt to be prepared.

I debated on leisure items, before I packed two books and a few scrolls of empty jars. I had made a promise to Shino that if I ever left Fire Country, I would try and find interesting new bugs for us to look at. After I was packed, I went through my gear, making sure it was all sharp and that I had my basic camping gear ready. I really loved Koemi's scroll, it had everything I could want.

Gai and Lee came home at their usual time to see me packing. Needless to say, they were overjoyed at my first C-Rank.

"YOSH! YOUR FIRST C-RANK!" cheered Gai, hugging me as soon as I told him the news. "I am so proud, my beautiful lotus!" I smiled, and hugged him back.

"Thanks tou-san." Lee hugged me as soon as Gai let go. I hugged him tightly, ignoring the smell of sweat that clung to him.

"You'll do great Kyoko." he said softly into my ear. I felt as if he was trying to convince himself as well as me. I just hugged him tighter. We let go, and Gai proclaimed that we were going to go out to celebrate. Koemi ended up being dragged along, as we ran into her at her apartment, her ashen face grinning a bit as soon as she heard the news. Her work had gotten to her again.

"So, Wave. That's going to a be a long trip." she remarked as soon as we sat down in the restaurant. She had placed an order for sake, looking like she really needed a drink. "You have a civilian with you, so about a week or two walking, followed by the length or time for the bridge to be built, and then a four day walk home."

"Yosh, you'll be back in time to see Lee in the chunin exams!" Gai exclaimed cheerfully as he looked through the menu. Koemi had flat out refused to go to a restaurant in our ninja outfits, so Gai wore a pair of loose pants, and a plain green shirt. Lee looked like a miniature of Gai, as always, and I wore a simple geen dress. I didn't often wear dresses, but I felt like looking like a girl, after being called a boy so many times. I even styled my hair in a more feminine matter. Koemi had worn a long dress, hiding her brace, though she kept her cane.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world! I would finish the mission all by myself if I had to, and then come back to see Lee, and if I couldn't do that, I would walk on my hands the entire way home!" I vowed, feeling slightly childish as Lee cheered. Our drinks came shortly after, and I sipped at my water as Koemi and Gai shared a few looks. I had a feeling that the two were holding hands, though I couldn't be sure.

Surprisingly, Gai was pretty discreet with his relationship. His nickname for her was brushed off as him being Gai by the many, though their close friends knew the truth. I had tried to puzzle through it, until it hit me when I came across Koemi's copy of the bingo book. She tended to write in it, mostly funny stuff about the shinobi she knew, so I had picked it up to had his own entry, along with a 'kill on sight' warning. I was quick to figure it out then. Koemi was in danger by being with Gai, and despite the bravo she passed off about her leg, she wasn't able to fight well enough to hold off ninja who wanted to hurt Gai. No wonder they were hush-hush about their relationship.

The idea made me wonder about Kakashi though. Maybe the whole reason he never dated was not because he wouldn't let people get close, but because he was afraid of being the reason they died. I was very curious about it, and a little sad. I had experienced love before, one-sided, but I still had loved. To close yourself off from that... it was inconceivable to me.

"So, you going to see Kabuto later?" Koemi asked, her voice teasing. I was shocked out of my thoughts, and stared at her, trying hard not to blush. "I bet he's going to be so proud of you!" she cackled seeing me turn red. Gai huffed, while Lee scowled, the two of them for once looking very angry.

"He's off on a C-Rank himself." Koemi frowned.

"He told you he was on a C-Rank?" I nodded hesitantly. She frowned some more, and was about to get up, saying a quick excuse, when Lee hiccuped. He turned to see him staring at the cup in his hand. He had accidentally grabbed Koemi's sake cup.

The next few minutes were the most humiliating, but the most entertaining, of my second life. Lee drunk was hilarious, he slurred his words, challenged everything to a fight, and stumbled around everywhere. However, it also was embarrassing, because, unlike the others, he recognized me, and bragged about me, to everything as he fought.

"My shishter can beat anyone up! No onesh shafe from her forshe!" was his frequent hiccup. Gai was trying to calm Lee down, while Koemi had retreated to a safe distance. She was laughing though, looking thoroughly amused. After a good twenty minutes, in which the restaurant was pretty much destroyed, Lee was knocked out and we left, after paying a sizable fee.

"I had no idea Lee was so good at the drunken fist." mused Koemi. Gai beamed.

"Yosh! His youth knows no bounds!" he was carrying Lee in a fireman's hold, so he couldn't do his pose, but he did give a thumbs up. Koemi laughed, leaning on her cane slightly.

"I guess." we walked home, met by Anko on the way. She had a good laugh at the tale, and then turned to me, grinning. I took a few steps back, quite nervous.

"Kyoko-_chaan_, lets see if your any good at the Drunken Fist."

"I am never leaving my drink unattended around you, Koemi or Kakashi ever again."

-0-

"Your serious?!" Naruto asked, laughing his head off. We were on the road to Wave, and I had regaled the story of the night before. Tazuna was looking at his sake bottle speculating, as Kakashi read his book, but his eye was crinkled in a smile.

"I'm serious. And Lee doesn't remember _anything _about last night." I said, grinning at my teammates. Sasuke had a bit of a smile on his face, which I was overjoyed at. He was so depressed all the time, it wasn't good for his health! Depression can lead to all kinds of sickness, and it just makes me upset to see anyone look depressed.

"Do you think your anything like him?" Naruto asked, grinning at me.

"If you slip me alcohol, I swear I will get Teuchi to withhold ramen from you." I did a look over, frowning. "Or maybe I should anyway. Your not eating healthily enough."

"I eat!" Naruto protested, looking terrified.

"Naruto, you need more then ramen! Eat some leafy vegetables for once!" I turned on Sasuke as well, having seen some of his habits. "And you! Eat more then ration bars and tomatoes! Eat a full meal, that has healthy options in it!" I scolded the two, glaring at them. Naruto's habits were legendary, but even Sasuke fell pray to not eating healthy enough. Ration bars were not a full meal, not at all.

"Is she always like this?" I heard our client ask Kakashi after I was winding down from my rant.

"She's the team mom, it's so cute." Kakashi said, amused by my rant. I whirled on him, glaring.

"You could do with a good meal to oji-sensei! I know for a fact unless you eat at my apartment, you only eat takeout! That is not good either! How about you try and cook something healthy?" I turned around and went off to the front, scouting ahead. Naruto soon followed, chattering on about how this was his first time out of the village. It was my first time as well, so I was just as excited, but I was forcing myself to be calmer on the mission. If we screwed it up, it would look bad, and I knew the blame would fall onto Naruto and I.

Sasuke was the last Uchiha, and his name carried a lot of weight. Kakashi was one of the best jonin in the village, his entry in the Bingo book stating, flee on sight. Naruto and I were lower then them, Naruto because of the Kyubbi and I because I was from a civilian family. If the mission went south, fingers would point at us. We had to make sure that it didn't look bad.

When we reached a good spot to stop for the night, Naruto was told to get firewood, which I told him to use clones for, to get the job done quicker, while I was charged with hunting down some food.

I hated hunting the wildlife around us, but I firmly shoved the 'aww, such a cute fluffy bunny!' side of myself away as I hunted, find and killing three rabbits, leaving a pregnant female alone. I had hunted before, but the two lives I had lived were at war with each other, as I skinned the rabbits quickly. My old life was screaming at the sight, finding it gross and disgusting, but my new life was the dominate one, and had witnessed the sight before, on camping trips made to harden us against such sights.

I closed my eyes as I finished the last rabbit, and forced my mind to pull up a picture of Maya, her eyes smiling at me. My new life was dominate, but I would not loose my baby.

Cooking was delegated to Tazuna, who actually knew how to cook over an open fire, and didn't mind doing so. Kakashi and Sasuke had set up the tents, and were now discussing a watch scheduled with Naruto.

"I'll take the midnight watch." Kakashi was firm with his choice, which i understood. Lee had talked about midnight watch, saying it was the worst watch to take, so it made sense that Kakashi would want to lessen our burden.

"Hey, Mirror?" asked Naruto as we ate.

"Yeah?"

"Are you still friends with Sakura-chan?" he asked, blushing. Sasuke twitched at the name, looking disgruntled.

"No, not for a long time. Why?"

"Well, she's working at the hospital, and I ran into her-"

"At the hospital?!" I asked, shocked. I hadn't expected her there.

"I heard about that. Her sensei noticed her chakra control and while he failed his team, he did place her in the medicnin program." Kakashi said, reading his book.

"So, I was just thinking, that if you were friends with her, could you ask her what she thought of me." It took me a bit to figure out his words, and then I snickered.

"Aww, Naruto has a crush! So cute!" I pinched his cheek, smiling. He scowled, and batted off my hand. "Anyway, like I said, no. I won't be friends with people who give up a friendship over some boy. She was hoping to get on Sasuke's team though, I remember that."

"You and Hinata are the only ones who don't have a crush on me." droned Sasuke, as he ate. "I'm glad that at least one of you two are on my team." I grinned, and gave him a hug around the shoulders.

"I'm glad I'm on your guys team as well... even if oji is the one who teaches us."

"I'm a great teacher!"

"Letting us learn _everything_ by doing D-Ranks is lazy teaching." I remember the fit I had when we learned that the others got real training, I had marched right up to him, and demanded an explanation. Learning that he taught us by having us do D-Ranks shocked me, but made sense. Undercover work was learned when we washed dishes, weeding gave us sharp eyes, and standing in running water strengthened our legs.

Didn't mean he wasn't lazy though.

"Your so mean Ko-chan..." Kakashi whined behind his book. I snicked and went back to my rabbit. We finished our meals, and drew straws for the watches. I got the best one, morning watch, so I went to bed early.

I couldn't wait until we got home, so I could brag to Shino that we got to go out of Fire Country for our C-Rank. He had a boring message delivery for his. Ours was much more exciting.

-0-

The next week was spent much like the first day, me scolding the boys, us messing around, and a few pranks that we pulled on Kakashi. Tazuna loosened up a bit, and actually amused us with some stories of his grandson. It was alot of fun.

However, such things do not last in the ninja world. We were about five days away from wave, when I noticed a puddle on the ground. I went over to it, trying to see if there was any bugs in it, so I could show Shino.

There was nothing, not unusual, but a little odd. I noticed that there was no wet soil around the puddle, nor was there any condensation anywhere on any tree. My brain supplied the reason. There hadn't been any rain there, for some time.

So, what was the puddle?

My hands idly flashed through signs, communicating to my team,

'_No signs of rain for days. Puddle odd. Trap?'_

"Kyoko, I noticed that your rolling your shoulders." Kakashi called out, I turned to look at him, his own hand flying through symbols._  
_

_ 'Yes. Spring trap.'  
_

"My shoulders hurt from my bo pulling on the strap." I called back, removing my bo as I did so. "I had gravity seals put on it before we left, didn't realise it would be a problem."

"As long as your alright." I lazily walked up to my teammates, who had watch the conversation. Naruto drifted to the side, still chattering, but a little more tense. Sasuke was the same, as I took the point. We were about three meters from the puddle, when they attacked, slicing through Kakashi like butter. I screamed, seeing the blood splatter, my mind going back to the car.

No, no, no...

"One little-" My staff slammed into the man on the right, my weights having been ripped off in a second. I twirled the staff, catching him in the stomach.

"You bastards!" I screamed, slamming my head forward into the mans nose. A commotion was right behind me, but I didn't care. I wanted him to hurt, I wanted him to bleed.

I wanted to kill him.

I slammed my staff into any part I could reach, going faster then I had ever done before, the weights on my arms being removed with every shout I made, my chakra responding to my intent. I was cut across the cheek by a kunai, but I ignored one hurt my family, no one killed them. No one!

However, before I could strike the killing blow, a shouted,

"Kyoko!" forced me to whirl around. Kakashi stood behind me, a cut up log in the place he had been supposedly killing. I stared at him in shock, my weapon dropping from my hands.

"O-oji?"

"Ko-chan." He smilled at me, and I ran forward towards him. I punched him in the gut, before I wrapped my arms around him, sobbing. He hugged back, simply holding me, as I shook in his arms.

"Tazuna, we need to have a talk." Kakashi's voice was like ice, as he addressed the shaking bridge builder.

* * *

DONE! Felt it a good spot to end it there, hope you enjoy it!

I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want for the Wave Arc, so updates might be slow, plus I have half a dozen ideas I'm half working on. Mostly one-shots and little snippets, so no biggy. A few story stories, but I can manage two or three stories at a time.

Drunken Fist scene added as a joke, but also because I'm, trying to decide if the ability should be genetic or not. I edited most of it, because honestly, if I saw my brother acting like that, I would so try and remove it from my memory, even if it is hilarious.

Quick thoughts on my 'fight scene': I'm honestly not comfortable with writing them, but I'm trying. Also, Kyoko was in a rage when the fight happened, she was so focused on hurting the man who she though killed her uncle figure, she didn't notice anything else. Sorry if it isn't good, but I tried.

Review!


	14. Chapter 13

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

* * *

"His name is Gato." Tazuna spoke, in a voice that was broken. A flash of pity drifted through me, but bitter anger overwhlemed it. Kakashi could have died, if he was a second slower. I could have lost my uncle because of an old man's deceit. "He wants me dead." the blunt statement carried more weight then it should have.

"Gato, as in Gato of Shipping and Transport?" asked Kakashi, as he made me release him. He took my face into his hands, and frowned. "He's the richest man in the world... Ko-chan, do you feel alright?" His thumb pressed against the gash on my face.

"I'm a little lightheaded." I muttered, reaching into one of the pouches on my belt. I pulled out a universal antidote, my hands shaking a bit. "Better safe then sorry." Sasuke came forward, taking the vial, as well as a few bandages Kakashi gave him.

"You need to bleed out the poison first, before you administer the antidote." Kakashi said, before he turned back to Tazuna, who looked sick at the idea that I had been poisoned.

"Here." Naruto handed over a kunai, his hands shaking. "All of yours are dirty from... the other one." Sasuke took it, and pressed against the side of the cut, as Tazuna explained his situation to Kakashi. I half heard him, as Naruto had begun to babble that he hadn't meant to freeze up, but all he could see was Kakashi being ripped apart. I gripped his arm, gently squeezing it.

"It's alright. I would have to, if I hadn't gotten so angry about it." I reassured him, wincing as Sasuke began to force the poison out of me.

"Well, I swear, I'll never run away again. I'm not going to be the one who hangs back or freezes up. No one will ever have to save me again!" he said, grinning at me. I ruffled his hair gently, as Kakashi and Tazuna continued to talk.

"So, as the architect of the bridge," I remarked, as Tazuna explained that the bridge was the only thing that could save Wave country, "Your the only thing standing between Gato and his conquest of Wave..."

"Yes." Tazuna said, nodding. My view of him changed a bit, instead of a simple drunk, I saw a man who was willing to die to protect his precious people, to save their country. I saw someone like my dad, both of them. My dislike for him lessened, and I sighed.

"Now you make me like you, you could have said something earlier." I complained. "Okay, now soak a bandage with the antidote, and press it against the cut." I ordered Sasuke. "Anymore bleeding out and I'll die of blood loss." He obeyed my command, followed by wrapping a bandage around my head to force the gash closed.

"Uh... alright." Tazuna looked taken aback, but continued. He explained about his money crisis, and then he began a guilt trip. "If you turn from me now, I'm as good as dead. But, that's not your concern! You won't be there to see my daughter and ten-year-old grandson cry all day like their hearts are breaking."

"And now, I hate you again." I groused, crossing my arms.

"We can protect you until you get back to your own country." Kakashi sighed, as he tied up the chunin we had beaten. I winced seeing the one I had fought. He was a mess of broken bones, bruises and cuts, and was breathing in shallow breaths.

"He's not going to survive the night... will he?" I asked, my hands beginning to shake. Kakashi looked at me, and shook his head. He pulled out a kunai, and offered it to me.I stared at it, my heart pumping fast with each breath I took.

I had known this day was coming. Every ninja takes a life at some point in their career. I had taken the life of animals before, but I had never done it to a human being. We were told of how it was okay to panic the first time, but most cases where in the heat of battle... this was not like that. I would be killing in cold blood, no matter the circumstances, my first kill would be slitting the throat of a defenseless man.

"Kyoko..." Kakashi spoke, his eye staring into me. I reached out and took the blade, my hands shaking so bad that I had to clench my fists to try and calm down. Sasuke took a step back, as did Naruto, both staring at me, at the man I had hurt. I knelt down at the side of the chunin, my breath shuddering in my chest.

"What's going on?" asked Tazuna, staring.

"He won't survive the night." I stated. " He's in a lot of pain, and I'm the one who put him into this state. I have no interest in prolonging his suffering... that would be inhumane." I spoke in a controlled voice, trying not to show my panic, as I put the blade to his throat.

"Aren't you a medicnin? I heard you talking to the others about it." Tazuna seemed desperate.

"I'm not that good!" I snapped, my eyes locked on the chunin's face. His mask was gone, and I could see him. He was plain looking, nothing distinguishable about him, no scars, no birthmarks... at least none on his face. I felt my hand shake, as I stared right into his face. "I... I can't heal him..." were my finale words, before my hand moved.

I threw up right after, running from the body, and barfing into a bush, tears mixing with my vomit. I dry heaved, crying.

"Mirror?" Naruto's voice rang out from behind me. His hand came to rest on my shoulder. I turned around, and hugged him, burying my face into his hair, my superior height enabling me to do so. A thought struck me, though, and I shoved away from him, staring at my hands. They had blood on them from the fight, and from my finale act.

"Unclean." I muttered, yanking out my canteen and pouring some water into my hands. "Unclean, so fricking unclean." I washed my hands with the water, the blood sliding off my back gloves, but my fingers seemed to be dyed red, as I frantically scrubbed at them. A pale set of hands grabbed mine. I looked up from my hands to see Sasuke, looking right at my eyes. I noticed he actually had to look up, something that made me want to laugh, but I choked down the hysteria that was creeping up on me.

Sasuke maneuvered himself so that he held my wrists with one hand, as he dug around in his pouch on his hips. He pulled out a bar of shinobi soap, made to clean off blood and other bodily fluids.

"Naruto, come over here." he ordered. The two actually washed my hands for me, Naruto pouring the water over them. When the blood was gone, I simply stared at my hands, still held in between Sasuke's, before I said as I took my hands back,

"Arigato." we moved away, Kakashi sending one of his summon dogs back with the news, as well as the chunin's location. My hands shook the entire time, as Tazuna looked at me, his eyes full of horror, but pity at the same time. It was a silent time, as we walk away. No one wanted to speak, to mention what had happened.

"Kyoko," Kakashi said, as we moved closer and closer to Wave. I looked up from my hands, which i had been staring at.

"I don't want to talk about it... not now."

"We have to talk about it... but we can do it later." he gave me a one armed hug, before he detached himself, taking out his book, dropping back so he was right by the client. I wrapped my arms around me, breathing in and out. A tanned hand came to rest of my shoulder, and I turned to see Naruto, smiling at me.

"Mirror... do you want to play I Spy?" Naruto asked softly. I smiled weakly at him, and nodded, detaching his hand after a moment.

"I spy something... blue."

"The sky?"

"No..."

"Sasuke's shirt?"

"Nope."

"Uh... Kakashi's shirt?"

"I think that's more black then blue." remarked Sasuke, before he nodded to Naruto. "The blue parts of his jumpsuit?"

"Nope, but close!" the game continued on, as we moved through the country side. We had to stop for the night, briefly, a fact I wasn't looking forward to. I took first watch, staring out into the night, but eventually, it was time for sleep.

I woke up screaming, five times. Tazuna slept like the dead, but the others woke with me, a fact I was embarrassed by. Eventually, I gave up sleeping, and sat by the fire, staring at my hands again. Kakashi came over to sit with me, taking the finale watch.

"I keep seeing blood on my hands." I said, staring at the apendages.

"I wish that I could say something to comfort." Kakashi's voice was soft, for once his drawl undectable in his voice. I scoffed, knowing that there was no comfort for it. Maybe if my first kill had been in battle, but... not this.

"It never gets easier, does it?"

"The act itself does, but the realization... the guilt... no, it never does." Kakashi sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Every ninja has nightmares about their first death, I did, and I still have some. I'm sure Gai, Anko and Koemi do." I had heard Koemi's screams a few times, when I slept over at her place, which often occurred when Gai and Lee were on a mission. Gai often asked her to keep an eye on me, so i would sleepover a few times, so she wouldn't agitate her leg going up and down the stairs.

"Gai doesn't scream... I think he just trains until he collapses." I remarked, remembering the times I had woken up to find Gai in the living room, passed out and surounded by weights and the like.

"And I read, while Anko drinks and Koemi... I'm not sure what she has as her coping mechanism, but the point is, it never get easier. the guilt never goes away, but it fades. You just have to find a way to cope with it." Kakashi squeezed my shoulder.

"Thanks oji-sensei." I said, smiling up at him.

"Kyoko, I was fine with you calling me that earlier, but this isn't a simple C-Rank anymore." he said, looking right at me. "If someone hears that-"

"They'll go after me to try and unsettle you." I agreed, nodding. "Alright Kakashi-sensei, I'll start the fire for breakfast, we should move out soon."

"I'll get the others up."

-0-

"That is huge." was the first words out of my mouth as soon as we saw the bridge, Naruto's loud agreement with me was all Tazuna needed to puff up in pride. I still didn't like him, but he was good at his job, that I had to admit.

"It is quite impressive." Sasuke agreed, his eyes a little wide, staring at the bridge. Kakashi chuckled from behind us, as the man who was taking us across in his boat, muttered darkly about us keeping quite. I ignored him, as I watched the mist grow heavier the closer we reached land. I frowned.

"Is this natural, the mist is getting really heavy." I asked.

"Yes, it is." Tazuna said, shrugging. I put it out of my mind as we hit land. "Thank you." Tazuna said to the boat, who gave him a half smile, leaving quickly. I didn't blame him, if Gato found out he was helping us, it would turn nasty for him. We moved away from the river, alert for anything.

Naruto was the most jumpy one of us, looking around like a startled rabbit, as he tried to see everything. Eventually, he threw a kunai in the bush, making us all jump.

"A white rabbit?" I asked when we saw what he had thrown at, finding the humor in comparing him to a rabbit just a few seconds before. Naruto picked it up and cuddled it, apologizing over and over. "But, it's summer-"

"GET DOWN!" I dropped as soon as Kakashi yelled that, Tazuna being knocked down by Kakashi. Right after we did so, a huge sword flew over our heads, smashing into a tree. We stood up as a thunk was heard, a man standing on the sword. He looked a bit like a mummy, all wrapped up in bandages. He was bare chested, and very buff from what I could see. I felt a blush steel up my cheeks, before it left, as i recognized the man from Koemi's bingo book.

"Momochi Zabuza!" I blurted out, staring. He chuckled, his voice deep and dark. I shivered, feeling a cold spike slid down my back.

"At least one of you does their homework." he chuckled. "But, I guess we can expect that from a student of Sharingan no Kakashi." Kakashi held out a hand, stopping Naruto from running at Zabuza.

"This fight isn't like before." he said, not even looking at us. His hand drifted to his slanted hitai-ate, "This will get a bit rough." I grabbed Tazuna, yanking us back as he moved the headband up, showing his eye. Maya had ranted about the eye, so i was well aware of it's significance, a fact Naruto knew to some extent. I had once forced him to review a large amount of Kekkei Genkais native to Konoha for a test, so he didn't yell out a question about the eye, an action that would make us seem weak in front of Zabuza.

"I'm seeing the famed eye so early... I'm honored." Zabuza said, kneeling on his sword. "Now, I'm on a tight schedule to polish off the old man... but it looks like, I'll have to kill you first." He moved faster then I could see, jumping off a tree, and landing on a lake a bit away from us.

"Water walking." I said, staring. I was alright at it, but it seemed second nature to the missing-nin. I removed my bo from my straps, kicking off my weights, which had been halfway undone for a while, just in case. Sasuke pulled out a kunai as did Naruto, but this was just precautionary. I was sure that Kakashi would polish off Zabuza quickly, and we would be on our way.

"The finest of the ninja arts..." Zabuza sated, holding his hands in some kind of sign."The Kirigakure Jutsu..." he faded right into mist.

"Shit." I swore, spreading my feet out. "Silent killing, right?" Maya, along with the bingo book had told me that. Maya mentioned something else about him, but I wasn't sure what it could be.

"He'll come after me first." Kakashi stated, as he stared at where Zabuza had been. Fog began to roll in as he spoke, making me wince. I wasn't good at detecting people. I had to see them to know where they were, the puddle incident having been an exception due to the fact it was a bit of an obvious trap.

Blood on my hands... I banished the thought, instead focusing on Kakashi. "I haven't necessarily mastered every aspect of the Sharingan eye, so all of you stay on your toes."

"There are eight targets-" Zabuza's voice, deep and erie, rang through the fog. Chakra enhanced if I wasn't mistaken. It sent shivers down my spin, as well as fear. He was leaking a bit of killing intent through his words, "Throat, spinal colum, lung, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery..." I moved my hands around on my bo, shaking. Naruto was breathing heavy, his shoulder shaking from what I could see. Sasuke gritted his teeth, ignoring the voice, or trying to. "Kidney, heart... so many choices, what vital vulnerable place shall I choose? Heh-heh."

Sasuke began to shudder, his eyes wide. I felt the same thing, the fear, the terror, sinking down my spine. I couldn't breath, I was so terrified.

"Sasuke... calm down." Kakashi spoke, not even looking back. "Even if he gets me, I'll protect you..." he turned, his eyes closed in a smile "I will never let my comrades down." Sasuke took a breath, calming down as I did to. Kakashi was there, he would protect us.

"I wouldn't bet on that..." Zabuza appeared right behind Sasuke, right in front of me. His sword, the mammoth sized thing, was so close to my stomach, so close, that all it would take was one move- I made the first one, yanking myself back, taking the bridge builder, who had been behind me, with me, the two of us moving back just as Kakashi appeared. He stabbed Zabuza, but instead of blood-

"Sensei!" Naruto screamed, pointing behind Kakashi as the water clone fell with a splash. "BEHIND YOU!" Zabuza swung his sword, slashing right through kakashi, ripping a scream from my mouth, but instead of blood, Kakashi became water.

"Don't move." Kakashi was right behind Zabuza, holding a kunai right to his neck. I took a shuddering breath, helping Tazuna up from where he had fallen behind me. "Game over."

"AWESOME!" cheered Naruto, but I frowned. Zabuza was shaking, but no in fear...

"Heh-heh-heh... You think it's over." chuckled Zabuza. I gripped Tazuna's arm pulling him farther away from the two jonin. "You just don't get it. It will take more to defeat me than mimicking me like an ape, a lot more." He chuckled even more, his eyes closing. "But you are good, in that short time, you duplicated my water doppelganger technique."

I was puzzled, wondering how he could know that Kakashi didn't already know the technique before he used it in this battle, but I shoved the thought away. Now not was the time to think about that. "You ensured all my attention would be focused on it, while you yourself used the Kirigakure technique of hiding in the mist, watching my every move." Zabuza cackled, as he simply stood there, not even looking concerned. "Too bad for you..." Appearing out of the mist, yet another Zabuza appeared. "I am not so easy to fool."

Kakashi popped the Zabuza in front of him, as Naruto cried out in shock. He ducked the swing Zabuza made at him, but Zabuza was prepared for that, as he shoved his sword into the ground, using it to swing around and kick Kakashi in the stomach. I knocked Tazuna down as Kakashi flew over our heads, landing right in the lake.

"How the fri-" I began, but Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, on top of the water.

"Suirō no Jutsu!" a ball of water appeared, trapping Kakashi in it. "Heh-heh-heh that prison is inescapable. You're trapped." I jumped up, watching Zabuza carefully. "I'll finish you later... after I've dealt with all the others." A Water Clone rose out of the lake. "Little ninja wannabe-" mocked Zabuza, staring at Naruto in paricular. "Trying so hard to fit in, you even wear a hitai-ate on your forehead!" The clone cackled, moving forward, towards us.

"Clothes don't make a shinobi, you need skills good enough to rate a listing in my bingo book... before you deserve to be called ninja." The clone moved forwards even more. "We don't call your kind ninja. We call them-" The clone vanished, only to reapear, slamming into Naruto, his headband flying off.

"NARUTO!" I screamed, my eyes wide. Zabuza landed on the piece of clothing, his foot clanking against the metal.

"Brats." finished the real Zabuza, smirking at us.

"EVERYONE LISTEN!" screamed Kakashi suddenly, using a jutsu so we could here him. "Take Tazuna and go! It's a fight you can't win. If he wants to hold me in this prison, he can't leave this place." He choked, but continued, look right at us. i felt my heart squeeze, as large tears poured down my face. I shook, my bo slipping a bit in my hands. "If his water doppelganger gets more than a certain distance away from his real body, he loses control of it! SO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"NO!" I cried out, still shaking. I couldn't help the cry, unable to stand it. I had nearly lost him earlier, and now it seemed like I was losing him, all over again. Naruto turned to look at me, his face going from terrified, to thoughtful. A look crossed his face I couldn't place, but I was more focused on Kakashi then anything else.

"LEAVE!" he screamed on last time, before he stopped the jutsu, to try and conserve energy. Nartuo turned to the clone, and began to stand.

He rushed it, screaming. I added one of my own, as the clone snorted, and kicked him away. He slid over to me and Sasuke, who had come up next to me, to obey our sensei's last order.

"WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING?!" I screamed, but stopped, staring. In his hand, he held his hitai-ate.

"Hey...you..." he said, standing up. "What's life like without eyebrows, freak?"

"What is he..." Sasuke muttered, but I wasn't really paying attention, focused on Naruto.

"Got a new listing for your bingo book, right here!" He looked right at Zabuza. "A guy who is going to be the next Hokage of the Konohagakure Village!" He stood straighter, and wrapped his headband around his forehead. "Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha-school ninja."

I stared at Naruto in shock, before my eyes flickered to the clone and Kakashi. They all were taken aback, but I should have figured it out.

"At our first meeting I thought the fellow was just an inconsequential brat." muttered Tazuna. I scoffed, looking at him.

"And you thought I was a boy." he shrugged, looking apologetic.

"Sasuke, listen up." Naruto said, not taking his eyes off Zabuza.

"What is it?"

"I have a plan." Naruto said. I grinned. Now, here is the master chaos planner at work. Whenever something went wrong, Naruto was the king of figuring out a plan that could work around it.

"Hmf, so it's time for some team work."

"Alright, lets get busy!" Naruto said, smirking.

"Heh..heh, you're very sure of yourself, but... do you really think you can stand a chance against me?"

"WHATS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" screamed Kakashi from his prison, using the jutsu again. "I TOLD YOU TO RUN! IT'S OVER... IT WAS OVER THE SECOND HE CAUGHT ME! YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR DUTY, KEEP THAT IN MIND! WE'RE HERE TO PROTECT TAZUNA-SAN!"

"Gramps?" asked Naruto, turning to the bridge builder.

"What?" The old man spoke in a dry voice. "Lets face facts, I got us into this mess by lying..." he shook his head, looking at us. "I've had a real long life, and it would be wrong for you four to get yourselves killed trying to save me, so you go ahead." his smirk took up the entire lower half of his face. "Give this fight everything you've got." The three of us smirked, as we turned right back to the clones. I sent out a quick pulse, removing forty gravity seals, as Sasuke spoke,

"So that's it."

"Are you guys ready for this?" Naruto asked. I scowled at his back, but otherwise ignored his comment. Now was not the time to bicker about comments like that.

"Heh.." chuckled Zabuza, or at least his clone. "Apparently, you don't care whether you live to get any older. Playing at being ninja like it's a child's game-" I couldn't resist the dig, smirking as I did so.

"Actually, there is a child's game called Ninja, perhaps that's what your thinking of?" I mentally blamed Koemi for the snark, but I couldn't resist saying it. Zabuza was knocked of balance for a second, before he continued, ignoring me, even though Naruto was snickering at my comment, and Kakashi had done a clearly visible facepalm.

"I, however, by the time I was your age, had already dyed these hands in my enemies blood-" I looked downa t my own hands at that, my mind flashing back to the chunin. I winced, and shoved it out of my mind.

"The demon Zabuza!" Kakashi blurted out, staring. I pondered why he hadn't passed out yet, but figure he was using some kind of jutsu to help him breath underwater.

"It would seem my reputation has preceded me."

"Long ago, in Kiri, the finale step to becoming a full-fledged ninja was the most inhumanly difficult test imaginable." It clicked then, and I gasped, staring at Zabuza, ignoring his next words. I remembered Maya's words on him, and to know that I was facing down a man who had murdered over a hundred others, when he hadn't even qualified to be a ninja yet, freaked me out.

Zabuza's clone moved, slamming his foot into Sasuke, throwing him back. I hadn't even noticed it move, I though as I twirled to look at the clone and Sasuke. The clone had his foot right on top of Sasuke, pushing him down.

"SASUKE!" I yelled, taking a step forward as Zabuza hissed,

"Time to die-" but Naruto was faster, his hands flying through symbols. Over a hundred clones appeared. The clone stared at the lot of them, his hand going to his sword. "Solid doppelgangers, and quite a lot of them." He removed his foot from Sasuke, who rolled over and began to push himself up.

"READY OR NOT!" Screamed the Naruto's jumping the clone. However, it moved fast, swinging it's sword in a circle, popping all of the fake ones, and throwing the real one into a tree. Naruto yanked his pack off, and dug soemthing out. "SASUKE!" he tossed something to Sasuke... a giant shuriken. I caught on, smirking.

"Naruto, gaurd!" i ordered as Sasuke began his move. Five clones appeared around me as I ran forward towards the clone, who was focused on Sasuke.

"Shuriken are-" the clone began, but I moved fast, slamming my staff out into its stomach, causing it to pop. The shuriken moved around us, towards the real one.

"Amatures." scoffed Zabuza, catching the shuriken. I smirked, as another shuriken flew at him, hidden in the shadow of the other. He dodged it, making me smirk wider. "Still an-" however, the one he dodged, became Naruto, who threw a kunai at Zabuza.

The missing nin was forced to dodge it, as I cackled, falling back. Naruto had pulled the same move during a spar I had with him, and I had fallen for it was well. It was a tricky move, and I was actually impressed he came up with it. Sasuke chuckled as well, watching Zabuza freak out.

"YOU LITTLE!" he began to move towards Naruto, but Kakashi appeared in front of him, blocking his movement.

"...Naruto, your scheme was brilliant..." he muttered, looking up. "You've matured... all of you... except Kyoko, she dematured." I pouted a bit at that, proving Kakashi's point even more. "He broke that jutsu, with only a clone, a transformation and some teamwork." he taunted Zabuza, who looked even more enraged. "Just so you know, the same jutsu won't work on me twice...

Your move."

The two jumped apart, hands flying through signs faster then I could catch. Naruto swam away fast, as two giant water dragons roared out of the water, attacking each other, and almost drowning the rest of us.

When the water cleared, the two of them stood in the middle of the lake, Kakashi holding back Zabuza's monster sword with a simple kunai.

The two broke apart, and ran around one each other, however, when they stopped, they were exactly the same. I frowned, watching this. Could Kakashi actaully be copying everything?

"Through them all!" Kakashi suddenly yelled. By the taken aback stance Zabuza adopted, he had been either about to say it, or was thinking it.

"He's psyching Zabuza out." I murmured, "Or trying to."

"Got that sickeningly evil look in his eye... right?" Kakashi taunted Zabuza, as he copied every single move.

"Feh, your a pale imitation..." Zabuza said, but his next words were joined by Kakashi.

"I'm the genuine article. No mere copycat stands a chance against me!" Zabuza freaked after that, screaming at Kakashi, his hands flying through symbols.

"YOU MIMIC ME LIKE A PARROT! I'LL CLOSE YOUR BEAK FOR GOOD!" However, he froze for to long, staring at something. A genjutsu I figured, as Kakashi made the next move. A giant water spurt flew out of the lake, catching Zabuza, throwing him back hard. He slammed into a tree, half drowned, and completely and utterly terrified.

"That's that." said Kakashi, laughing.

"What... can you see the future?" Zabuza was terrified, but I turned away from the scene, running over to help Naruto out of the lake. I didn't want to see what would happen next.

"I foresee, your DEATH!" I heard Kakashi speak. The sound of something piercing flesh made me wince, but a young voice forced me to turn.

"Heh...heh... your perdiction came true." Zabuza laid on the ground, full of senbon needles, as a young man stood on a tree, his face masked. Kakashi jumped down from his perch, and checked Zabuza's pulse.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Yelled Naruto. "WHO ARE YOU!" he pointed at the unknown man. I smacked his head. "Mirror!"

"It's rude to point!" I scolded. "And he's not an enemy, otherwise, he would be helping kill us, not him.

"But... he's so young! Do we suck or something?"

"I can see where a thing like that would be hard to accept." Kakashi said, walking over to us. He plopped a hand on top of Naruto's head, ruffling his hair. "But it's a fact, you'll have to live with." he turned to the man on the tree. "This probably won't be the last time we run into a kid who's both younger and stronger than me."

"Your battle is over for now, and the remains must be disposed of, lest they give secrets to our foes." said the man, jumping down to scoop up Zabuza'z body. "Well then, I must be off." I frowned as he left. Something felt... wrong about that. But I couldn't place it.

"Now, we need to escort Tazuna-san the rest of the way to his home." kakashi said, as he covered the sharingan. "So lets put our best feet forward." He took one step, and then fell face forward.

"Chakra exhaustion." he muttered once, before he passed out. I sheathed my bo, sighing.

"I'll carry him." I said, going over and scooping him up. "He doesn't weigh more then about twenty gravity seals." Tazuna stared for a few minutes, before he waved us on.

"Kyoko... did that boy seem as odd to you as he did to me?" Sasuke asked softly. I nodded, frowning.

"Something odd happened there, but I can't place it..." Naruto heard us, and frowned, looking thoughtful. We didn't disclose our thoughts to Tazuna as we walked to his place, but I'm pretty sure he knew something was up, as he led us. He kept silent the entire way.

His daughter was a pretty woman, who took one look at us, and hustled us right in. She made up a bed for Kakashi, which i was grateful for. Despite the fact I could carry him, it was annoying to do so. Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, then fussed over us.

"Now you three boys-" I scowled, crossing my arms, as Tazuna shushed his daughter, who looked confused.

"I'm growing my hair out!" I ranted. "I'm so sick of being called a boy! I do not look that masculine!" I scowled at Naruto as he laughed.

"Sorry Mirror, but it is kinda funny." Sasuke rolled his eyes, as he leaned against the wall.

"Bite me. Now, Sasuke, don't pretend that you aren't hurt." I said, turning to him. "Being stepped on by a man more then three times your size has to hurt."

"It's a bruise-"

"I don't care. Sit, shirt off and let me heal it." I forced him to sit on the ground, glaring at him until he took off his shirt. The bruise looked disgusting, and covered most of his chest and stomach. My hands glowed green as I knelt beside him. It took quick work to heal the bruise, but his ribs were damaged to, but simply had a few cracks. "He went easy on you." I mused. "Or at least didn't consider you enough of a threat to actually break your ribs."

"And then he gets taken out by a kid younger than us!" Naruto complained.

"He was older than us Naruto." I said, rolling my eyes. "His body was that of a teenagers, not of a pre-teen."

"What, were you ogling him?" Naruto asked, staring at me.

"Most of him was covered, Naruto... Zabuza had some nice abbs though." I got looks from the men, as Tsunami simply chuckled. "What?"

"You were checking out our enemy?!"

"He was buff, I'm a hormonal teen!" I defended myself.

"You never check out me or Sasuke though..."

"I'm not attracted to either of you!" I said, turning to Naruto, giving him a weirded out look. "Besides, you guys do not have the years to work up muscles like that!"

"Now your just saying it to annoy us."

"Of course." I chuckled, turning back to Sasuke, who looked a little odd, but I shrugged it off, finishing my healing jutsu. I then healed the cut on my face, tired of the bandages, and knowing that the antidote would have soaked through enough. "Alright, so we just wait for Kakashi to wake up." I mused, looking through my pack for the scroll containing my extra leg weights.

"Which I am doing." muttered Kakashi, from his spot. "And the fact you found Zabuza attractive worries me."

"Hormonal teen!" I claimed. "I bet if it was a girl dressed in skimpy clothes, Sasuke and Naruto would be drooling."

"Point..."

"Will you be alright Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking at the grey haired man in concern.

"No, but I will be in a week." muttered Kakashi. I frowned, sitting cross legged.

"Oj- I mean Kakashi-sensei," I spoke, frowning. "That Hunter-nin..."

"Hunter-nin?" Tazuna asked, frowning.

"A subunit of most shinobi forces." I explained, turning to him. "They go after missing-nin and dispose of them. It's the best way to keep village secrets... well secret. Even our bodies when we die will be destroyed, to try and keep Konoha's secrets. Something didn't feel right though..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... hunter-nin policy is to destroy the body on sight... right?" I turned back to Kakashi who affirmed my statement. "And, he took Zabuza's body with him... why?"

"Maybe to spare us the right of the dismemberment?" suggested Sasuke, as he pulled his shirt back on.

"The Bloody Mist wouldn't care, you heard what the old graduation policy had been." I groaned, falling backwards.

"We'll figure it out later." Kakashi muttered, as he fell back asleep.

"Yes, he's right." Tsunami said, looking at us. "Now, you two three need to get some rest to... and uh... I'm sorry for..."

"I'm use to it, don't worry." I waved off her apology, dropping down beside Kakashi. "Naruto, can you get clones to do a perimeter or something, just in case?"

"Sure." I fell asleep shortly after, feeling exhausted from the adrenaline high I had be coursing on, and from carrying Kakashi.

Everything would be better in the morning.

* * *

ARGH! FINALLY! I hate fight scenes, so much...

And yes, it's pretty much the canon version, word for word, just a bit different because it's Kyoko and not Sakura. I still hated writing it, and it's the bulk of this chapter. RAH!

Fight scenes are almost as annoying as the fact I can't draw this stories Koemi like I can draw my other version of her. Bah.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, tried to make it exciting, and realistic. The entire bit at the very end was written as a joke, and because I'm pretty sure that realistically, Zabuza would be very muscular. Kyoko's attraction to him is a joke, cookies if you get it, but it was fun to write it.

Next chapter will be in a bit, I've hit inspiration for two other stories. I have the first chapter of one half written, so I'll have a new story up soon!

Also... OVER 200 FREAKING REVIEWS! YES! YES! YES! THAT IS AWESOME! *fist pumps* I am so glad I didn't rewrite now!

Review please!


	15. Chapter 14

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was suppose to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

* * *

**Back In Konoha**

Koemi frowned, looking over the file she had pulled. Yakushi Kabuto, Kyoko's kind of sensei, was pretty much the model genin, other then the fact he had failed the chunin exams over five times. She couldn't throw stones though, she had taken four times to get through.

Kabuto's entire file was picture perfect, nothing bad had ever happened to him, nor had he caused any sort of incident. There were only good words about him, from former teammates, from the people who employed him on missions, and yet...

"Something is odd about him." she muttered, closing the file, and leaning forward onto her elbows, pressing her clasped fists to her mouth. Kabuto had always unsettled her, but she had chalked it up to the fact she was frankly, disturbed by most medical combat techniques. The fact they could cause so much destruction freaked her out, so she tried to avoid most medicnins who actually fought in battle. She didn't even like regular medical chakra, an irrational fear, but after seeing what it could do, she feared it. So, she had always felt uneasy around the grey haired teen, but had never put to much thought into it.

But, he wasn't on a C-Rank like Kyoko claimed. He had requested time off, so he could help out at the hospital. Koemi frowned, biting on her knuckle as she thought. She hadn't seen him there during her monthly check-up, which as usual, she had been dragged to, but it wasn't uncommon for ninja to lie on the form. She did every once in awhile, and Anko did almost constantly, though the purple haired woman didn't often request time off.

"Why would he lie to Kyoko?" she pondered out loud, as Anko came into the office. It was actually Anko's office Koemi was in, but Koemi was the one who used it the most, as she was more of a paper pusher then an actual torturer. Anko and Ibiki often dumped their paperwork on the woman, who put up with it, as long as she got to avoid most torturing. She still did quite a bit, she just preferred to avoid it.

"Who?" asked the woman, sitting on the desk, eating a stick of dango. Koemi wrinkled her nose, smelling blood coming off her friend, but she pushed on, ignoring the smell. Anko tended to have a bloody smell linger around her most days, though Ibiki always reeked of it. Most ninja smelt like blood, but tortures always smelt the worst.

"Kabuto told Kyoko he was off on a C-Rank." Anko frowned, taking the file from the desk, and looking it over, her dango stick still in her mouth. "Maybe I'm just worried about nothing, but, I just don't get why he would lie to Kyoko."

"Well, she does have a crush on him." Anko said, closing the file. "Maybe he didn't want to hang around her because of that."

"I don't think so, he seems amused the few times I've seen her blush, or stare at him. He doesn't encourage her, thank Kami, but he still seems amused by her and her reactions." Koemi frowned, as she straightened in her chair. "I haven't seen him at the hospital, nor did I see him around his apartment building yesterday when Gai and I passed by it."

"How was your date with Gai?" Anko asked, grinning evilly.

"Fine." Koemi said, not giving any other details, much to Anko's disappointment. "I'm serious though, Kabuto worries me."

"It is odd for him to do this." Anko agreed, tossing the file beside her. "But, we can't do anything, unless we have solid proof."

"Still keeping an eye on him." Koemi said, as she stood from behind the desk. She winced as her knee moved. According to the healers, there was still some fragments of the sword that had shattered her knee cap inside her leg that they were unable to dig out, without potentially making her leg completely unusable.

"You alright?" Anko asked, her eye narrowing.

"Yeah, knee hurts a bit." she reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small bottle, checking the time as she did so.

"New medication?" Anko asked, as Koemi popped a pill into her mouth, dry swallowing.

"Yeah, pretty strong dosage this time, I'm becoming immune."

"How strong?" asked Anko, as she got off the desk, Koemi grabbing her cane, and moving out of the office, file in hand.

"I thought there was purple elephants with pink kimono's dancing around the room after I first took it, singing _Sakura Sakura._"

"Man, I need to get some of that stuff." Anko said, laughing. Koemi made a face at the idea of Anko high enough to hallucinate. That was not a pretty picture.

"Don't, besides it makes me nauseous. I've been sick for the past week. Can't even eat dango without puking." Anko gasped at that, but then frowned.

"Should you be here then?" Koemi half shrugged at the queastion.

"It's not to bad, so it's not a huge deal for me to come."she said, as they reached the file room, leaving after they handed back Kabuto's file. Anko swaved goodbye, skipping off upon seeing Ibiki who was motioning for her to come forward, cackling about a new victim. Koemi left the building, slipping out of one of the many entrances.

Most believed that the T&I building was in one place, but the truth was it was actually a large underground space, that they called a building to confuse people. The entrances led all over the village, to further confuse people. The most used one was the one leading out of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, though Koemi only used it once a month, so she could pick up flowers for Akane's grave.

Koemi left the tunnel to find herself near her apartment, a good thing since the drugs had started to make her stomach lurch. She walked straight into her bathroom as soon as she got home. After brushing her teeth after paying a visit to the toilet, she went to her couch, and collapsed onto it. She felt exhausted and sick, her stomach still churning despite the fact she just saw her lunch for the second time. She yanked off her leg brace, and laid down on her couch, falling asleep within a few minutes.

-0-

Gai opened his girlfriends window, slipping in through the traps. He smiled seeing the masculine woman laying on the couch, her face buried into the armrest, her soft snores sounding around the room.

His relationship with her was odd, they had gone from outright hating each other, to mutual respect, though they both loved to fight with each other, and then they became friends of a sort, after the mission. And finally, they had admitted their feelings. It was hard for them, with Koemi's work in T&I taking up so much of her time, and his genin team, but they were making it work. They were still together, a year later after all.

Gai walked over to his girlfriend, running a hand through her brown hair. It had gotten longer, now reaching her shoulders, and curled around her face. he smiled at her as she groaned a bit, her eyes opening to look up at him.

"Hey." she muttered, nuzzling his hand.

"Hey my black lotus." he said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss, tasting mint. "Were you sick again?"

"A little, not to bad though." she muttered, stretching. "The meds are really screwing with me."

"Should you go to the hospital?" he asked, worried, as Koemi sat up, pulling him down to sit beside her. Despite her strength, she couldn't actually force him to do anything, but he bowed to her whims, sitting beside her, and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his shoulder, her eyes half-lidded with sleep.

"If it doesn't go away in a bit, sure. However, I'll be fine for now." she smiled at him, and he grinned back. "Why are you here by the way?"

"I'm here to enjoy your youthful company!" he said cheerfully, hugging her tightly. She smiled at him, leaning forward to kiss him. Neither talked much after that, both to involved with the other to do so.

-0-

"I hate you right now." Koemi growled at Anko, as she sat in the small examination room. Anko shrugged,

"Meh, I'll live." she said, she pulled out the dango stick she had been chewing on, pointing it at Koemi. "You on the other hand, had your knee give out, right in the middle of the hallway. That is cause for alarm."

"IThat is no cause for alarm, my knee has always been weak."

"Koemi, shut up." Anko said, as the healer came in, her stance completely business like. She wore the traditional coat over her loose pants and shirt, her grace showing that she was no stranger to battle. Koemi twitched a bit, but forced her body to calm down. Shinobi were always assigned to the medicnins who actually served in battle, as they could spot most injuries faster then regular healers.

Koemi still hated them.

"Tanaka-san." said the woman, her arms crossed. She peered over her large square glasses, looking very displeased with the younger woman. "I hear your knee gave out." Koemi huffed, as she crossed her own arms. She was not in the mood to be treated like an invalid.

"I wasn't wearing my brace, and carrying a stack of files. It's nothing, Sato-sensei." she said firmly, not budging on the topic. Sato frowned, staring deeply into Koemi's eyes. The brunette did not back down, her eyes hard as she stared at her healer. Finally the older woman sighed, uncrossing her arms.

"We might as well check it out." Sato said, kneeling down, her hands glowing green with medical chakra. Koemi hid a wince at seeing the glow, but hid it well. Only Anko noticed it, but she already knew of Koemi's distaste for medical jutsu, so she didn't do anything. After a few minutes of scanning, Sato stood back up, adjusting her glasses. "Nothing wrong, except the strain you put on it. I suggest you wear your brace, and use your cane for the next month, and then wean yourself off it. Now, any other issues?"

"The medication she got is making her sick." Anko said cheerfully, dodging the punch from Koemi, who was hissing like an angry cat under her breath. Sato frowned, studying the brunette. Before she could speak, the door slammed open, revealing Gai, who ran over and scooped up Koemi.

"My Black Lotus! Are you alright?" Sato sighed, covering her face as Gai babbled on about how worried he was, and how glad he was to see that she was in one piece. His genin team had followed him, and looked awkward, except for Lee, who was joining in with Gai.

"Maito-san, can you please put down Tanaka-san, I would like to run another scan." Sato said, sighing at the antics of the 'Green Beast'. Gai obeyed, looking quite worried.

"I'm sure she's fine Gai-Sensei." Tenten said, as she watched Sato push her chakra through her hands again. After a few minutes, Sato stopped, looking troubled.

"Tanaka-san, are you sexually active?" that was not something anyone wanted to hear about their teacher, or their teachers girlfriend.

"Uh, we'll leave, so you can uh... have some privacy!" Tenten grabbed Neji and Lee, yanking them out of the room, with no protest from either of them. Koemi meanwhile was fighting backa blush, and Gai was blinking, looking embaressed himself.

"I bet these two go at it like rabbits." Anko cackled. The kunai from Koemi she dodged, but she didn't dodge the shuriken. "Aw, meany."

"What are you, five?" Koemi grumbled, but she answered Sato with a short nod.

"Tanak-san, your pregnant." there was silence for a long moment, until Koemi said,

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am Tanaka-san." she crossed her arms once more, studying the masculine woman, and her partner. "Tanaka-san, your body... it's very delicate. I understand you don't like being referred to as delicate, but the truth is, your body is still healing."

"It's been over two years." Koemi said, her voice harsh. Sato ignored her, continuing on.

"You were beaten so thoroughly, that its astounding you even woke up from your coma, much less survived it." Sato held up a file she had brought in with her, opening it. "In fact, your lower abdomen took so much damage, the fact you even managed to conceive... well, it's just as likely as Tusande-sama winning at poker." No words came from the two, Anko having slipped away when it was announced that her friend was pregnant. Sato continued on, ignoring the pain she would probably cause the two, needing to say this. "Tanaka-san... it's better for you if you terminate the pregnancy. With your injuries, that chance you may miscarry is high, and the chance you, yourself may die during the childbirth."

"What percentage?" Koemi asked, not looking at Sato, simply staring ahead.

"Excuse me?"

"What percentage does my child have of living through this?"

"I estimate around forty-nine. The chance you surviving is fifty-three." Koemi looked right at the healer, and grinned. She showed all of her teeth in a smile that did nothing to reassure Sato.

"I like those chances."

* * *

This was done as I work through the next of the Wave arc, but I wanted to write something fluffy and happy... more or less. It also shows how much has changed from the canon verse, as now that Koemi and Anko are both suspicious of Kabuto, they'd keep a much closer eye on him.

I also want to bring something up a friend of mine talked to me about: swearing. She was wondering why I didn't put much swear words in my fic. Here's the answer:

Why the hell would I use swear words in this fic? Honestly? I use some, but only when I, as the author, feel it's right. When people put swearwords in every five sentences, it's a cheap ploy to try and shock the person reading the story, or their way of trying to get more readers by being 'cool' with their swear words. it's not cool, it's immature, and ridiculous.

Not every person swears like a sailor. In Naruto, Hidan is pretty much the only person who swears a lot. If he is in the story, I understand excessive swearing, but he isn't in this story right now. Kyoko isn't the type to swear, Koemi isn't either. So, no. Unless the situation calls for it, there will be no swearing.

Also: NO MORE CHEMISTRY! I AM FREEEEEEEEEE! And no more MATH! YES!

In other news, I need a **beta**, if anyone is interested, or knows someone who would like to, I would appreciate it.

Review!


	16. Chapter 15

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

**MORE FANART! Link on profile.**

* * *

I was the first up, out of habit from living with Lee and Gai. I moved quietly through the house, changing into a new outfit in the bathroom. When I was done, I then tiptoed my way out back, careful not to wake anyone up. After deciding I was a relatively safe distance from the house I began my training. I wasn't going to miss a single day of training—no matter what.

I was halfway through my modified warm up (it had to be changed up a bit due to the situation and environment) when Tsunami woke up. She came out to see me hanging from a tree branch doing upside down crunches.

"Kyoko-chan?" she asked, coming up to me. I hid my wince, simply smiling at her, upside down. I disliked being disturbed during my morning exercise. At home it was a simple time, just Gai, Lee and I, all working together. It felt wrong when someone disturbed us, even if it was Koemi who did so, though she rarely woke up early enough. Even when I worked alone, being disturbed just felt _wrong_.

"Hai, Tsunami-san?"

"How long have you been out here?" she asked, moving away from me and towards the lake. From the way her eyes were fixated on, I could only assume her destination was towards a fish-trap-thing. I wasn't quite sure _what_ it was, but it appeared like some sort of device to capture fish from the lake.

"About an hour. I have a few more things to do before I tackle my katas."

"It seems like a lot to do," she spoke hesitantly, as if hesitant to offend me. A normal reaction from a civilian. Their self-preservation instinct took in and they were wary of people who killed for a living. Especially children. Child-killers unnerved them. Unnerved most people, actually.

I didn't like it. Their looks and tones and subtle change in stances. I knew it was natural of them to be afraid of us—to maybe even pity us. But I still didn't like it. It wasn't like we were _monsters_. I wasn't going to _hurt_ them. I knew that. But they didn't.

I made a noise of agreement to her comment. I dropped down from the tree, flipping in midair to land on my feet. I hid the grin I had at her surprise, feeling a little silly for showing off but I didn't regret it. There was something nice about stunning people in amazement. The moment my feet touched the soft grassy floor, I went down into my pushups.

"It is," I agreed. And it was, from a civilian point of view. I would have fainted at the sheer amount of work in my old life, but now, this wouldn't even get me working up a sweat. Not that I wanted a big sweat anyway. I needed to conserve my energy in case of a fight.

"But, I need to do this," I went on. I was still aiming to be the best shinobi in Konoha, and I would not give that goal.

"I don't see the others out here," amusement tinted her voice. I could guess why. She seemed amused by the fact it was the _girl_ who was training her heart out while the boys lazed about in bed.

I chuckled, shifting my weight to begin one-armed pushups. At the rate my training was going, I would be too strong for regular pushups. I was going to need to switch to something new eventually.

"Sasuke's not a morning person, and Naruto thinks I'm insane because of my training methods. Kakashi-sensei's injured, but even if he wasn't he wouldn't be out. He likes his sleep," I answered her unspoken question as I finished my push-ups and jumped up. She gave me a serene smile as she gathered the fish from the trap.

"Need a hand? Kata's can wait," I offered her, clenching and relaxing my hands. Ever since the puddle-water-ambush, I had been feeling a bit odd lately. More alert, almost. Tense, yet lighter. It took me a conscious effort to refocus on one thing and relax my body.

I didn't like it. This feeling. I liked my feet planted firmly on the ground and having perfect control over my body.

"Hai," she replied with a smile. I returned her smile with one of my own before I helped her take the fish in, running into Naruto on the way in who had just woken up.

"Mirror, were you out being crazy again?"

I rolled my eyes, ignoring his comment as I set the fish down on the counter.

"Come on Naruto, let's go get Sasuke up," I ordered instead, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. He complied, muttering a few words about waking up the 'teme' but I ignored him. It was his way of showing his affection, so I didn't bother bickering with him about it.

After we woke up Sasuke, and dragged him downstairs for breakfast, Tazuna came stumbling out of his room, followed by a little boy.

"Oh, hi!" I said, smiling at him. "You're... Inari, right?"

Inari only stared at me before giving a sullen nod and heading over to the table. He sat down without a word, ignoring everyone around him. My smile dropped and I felt a sting of hurt before brushing it off quickly. He was probably just tired. It was still pretty early. Not to mention most kids like to sleep in.

About halfway through a silent meal, Naruto broke the silence by asking a question I had anticipated.

"Do you think Kakashi-sensei is alright?" Naruto asked worriedly. I paused before answering, finishing my bite of food and leaning forward a bit.

"Hai, it's just chakra exhaustion. Kabuto told me about it, though I've never experienced it."

"Did he ever tell you how to... heal it?"

"Naruto, you can't heal it," I said patiently, placing my chopsticks down. I rotated my shoulders, hearing them crack. "I could, _theoretically_, pump him full of chakra. I'd need to borrow some form someone who has enough chakra to do that though."

"Let's go do it then!" Naruto jumped out of his seat, but I didn't move, simply sighing and glancing down. "Mirror?"

"I... when I tired the last time, I killed the fish I was using," I finally admitted. "I don't want to risk hurting Kakashi-sensei. Besides, he'll wake up later today most likely." Refusing to meet Naruto's gaze, I picked my chopsticks and continued eating. Sasuke kept quiet throughout the exchange and after a moment or two, Naruto sat back down and continued his own meal.

"Let's go check on him!" Naruto exclaimed as soon as we were finished our breakfast, but I quickly stopped him.

"Let's help Tsunami with the dishes first," I suggested (ordered), asking (forcing) the two boys to join me in helping the woman clean up.

"You don't need to!" she protested, but I firmly stated that we were helping. Tazuna stared at us for a few minutes, before he grumbled, drinking his sake. Inari had already started to help us, but he was sullen the entire time.

"_Now_ let's go wake sensei," I said, pulling the boys along with me. Naruto grumbled under his breath, and Sasuke remained stoic, as we went into sensei's room. Kakashi was laying on his back, still fast asleep. I sighed at this, sitting down next to him and doing some stretches. Naruto sat down next to me and Sasuke across from us on Kakashi's other side. Tazuna had come up behind us, drinking his sake.

"Let's take a look at his face!" said Naruto suddenly, grinning. My instinctual reaction was to shoot him down as that was an invasion of Kakashi's privacy but my more childish and curious side of me begged for him to pull back Kakashi's mask. I've known him for a while now and I had _never_ seen his face before. I didn't think even _Gai_ had. I was curious, I wanted to know. So I kept my mouth shut, instead leaning forward as Naruto's hand inched towards his face. A thrill of excitement rushed through me.

However, the plan was crushed as Kakashi woke right up, causing Naruto to fall back with a yelp. I felt disappointed that we would not get to see his face, but quickly dismissed the feeling when I took a closer look at Kakashi. He seemed odd. He rubbed his chin as he leaned forward.

"Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto, frowning and sitting back up. "What's wrong?"

"Of course," he said after a long minute, sitting up a bit straighter. "The Hunter-Nin's who handle corpse disposal, are supposed to destroy the body on the spot they kill at." I frowned at that, vaguely remembering reading that somewhere.

"Yes, I know that..." I opened my mouth, but a fleeting thought ran through my mind, carried on the whispers of the past,

_"So, he posed as a fake Hunter-nin, and took the body away, so that-"_

"Oh, _fuck_."

As a rule, I didn't curse. I hadn't wanted Maya to pick up any bad habits, and after being reborn, I simply didn't see the point. Besides, Gai was the type of parent to used the old 'wash your mouth out with soap punishment.' So, it was in my best interest not to swear like a sailor, or at all really.

"He only had to take the head with him, he didn't need the whole body," I whispered, my statement carrying a heavy weight around the room.

"Senbon weren't made to kill. They were made for incapitation. In the hands of an expert, it's child's play to put someone in a death like state from them," Kakashi's voice droned on as a wave rushed through my ears. Why hadn't I listened? Why hadn't I listened? Why hadn't I-

I stood, and stumbled out the door, feeling like I was drunk. I brushed past Inari, not paying attention to him as I left the upper floor, running out the front door as soon as I was able to. When I was a distance away from the house, I let loose.

I used my bo to trash trees, to crack boulders. When that wasn't enough, I used my bare fists. I lifted the gravity seals, and just pounded trees, the earth, rocks. All the while, I screamed.

I could have stopped the Hunter-Nin, I could have done something. If only I had listened to Maya. If only I had shown more interest in what she had to say.

I finally stopped my fit when I realized that I had created a new clearing, though the large valley's and dents in the earth made it a bit unsuitable for my work. I fell backwards, looking up at the sky. My hands were bloody from the force I had put behind them, my bo had been thrown off somewhere, and I was exhausted. However, all I could focus on was my failure, as a mother.

I hadn't listened to my daughter when she had so eagerly told me all about her favorite anime. I had more or less brushed her off. I had thought it to be silly and foolish, the world she had been enthralled by. Bijū? Jutsu? Shinobi? I didn't care; I found it to be ridiculous at the time.

What kind of mother did that? Was this my punishment for brushing off my daughter's passion, to find that due to my foolishness, I would lose my new family? That I would inevitably be the cause of the death of my entire family? That was too cruel. Too horrible and too awful. Or was it? Was it the just punishment that I deserved? That not only to fail as a mother—but to fail as a friend and as a shinobi.

I rolled over and hurled, tasting my breakfast a second time, something I did not enjoy. A hand came and rested on my shoulder, a canteen pressed into my hand once I was finished. I looked up to see Sasuke, his face impassive as he rubbed my shoulder.

"Thanks," I muttered, swirling the water around in my mouth and spitting it out. I didn't deserve them, not really. What kind of person was I? What kind of mother-

"It isn't your fault," said Sasuke suddenly, his voice firm. I only quirked a dry eyebrow at the sudden declaration. Sasuke continued to speak, not looking away from me. "Who would have known that the Hunter-Nin was a fake? Even if you have read a hundred books, even if you were the top kunoichi, how could you have known? You had a suspicion that something wasn't right, don't you remember?"

"I should have acted on it," I retorted, looking away from his intense gaze. "I should have remembered, right when he took the body away." I should have paid attention to Maya, I should have been a better mother, I should have-

"I should have been stronger. I should have stopped my brother," Sasuke snapped.

I stiffened, anger quickly replacing misery.

"You were a kid, what could you have done? What could you have _possibly_ have done to stop someone stronger, faster and, no offense, smarter then you?" Sasuke stared at me, impassively. I frowned, as the words I said sank in. "It's not the same. I'm a kunoichi! I should have-"

"The Hunter-Nin is better than the both of us," Sasuke interrupted me, sitting down in the crater I had been lying in and avoiding the pile of vomit I'd created. "He's stronger and faster, and probably smarter than us. Especially Naruto."

"HEY!" the voice of my other teammate made me turn. The blonde stood at the top of the crater, frowning. He held my bo in his hand, leaning on it. "I am not that dumb."

He slid down, and sat in front of us, avoiding the pile of sick as well.

"Stop beating yourself up over something you can't control." Sasuke said, ignoring Naruto. "There was nothing we could have done. The only thing we can do now is get stronger, faster and smarter."

I stared at him, and for some odd reason, a small part of me believed him. And as I thought more about what he said, that part grew.

I couldn't have done anything, even if I had remembered Maya's words. What could I have done? I was a kid now, and even with my training, it would have been a horrible fight. _Kakashi_ was half-dead after the fight, and I was still in shock from killing someone. It would have been a simple massacre. I still felt horrible for not listening to Maya, but I could have done worse. I could have hit her, I could have hated her for disrupting my life. I could have aborted her. I was a kid when I had her, and I muddled along well enough. I could have been terrible to her. I could have. But I wasn't.

I wasn't winning 'Best Mom in the World', but I wasn't being awarded the 'Worst Mom' award either.

I stood, healing my hands slowly. Naruto grinned at me, handing me back my bo.

"Let's go bug Kakashi-sensei for training then."

-0-

"Tree Climbing?!" Naruto yelled. After we had went back to the house, in which I apologized for running off, Kakashi had dragged us off a bit of a ways, after making Naruto create twenty clones. The bridge couldn't be built today, as Tazuna still had to wait until his workers sobered up, as they had all taken to drinking when he left, believing him to be dead for good. I found it sickening that they would rely so much on one man. They seriously needed to try and be more independent. "We already know how to climb trees!"

"Oh, this isn't like your regular tree-climbing." Kakash's voice had taken on a teasing lit as I watched him lean on his crutches. "We're doing this without hands!"

With that, Kakashi walked right up the side of a tree vertically, making Naruto openly gap and Sasuke's eyes narrow in focus.

"I already know how to do this," I snorted. I had learned it in the hopes of being able to use jutsu more effectively. You know, improve my chakra control. It hadn't worked out that well but my chakra control _was_ better.

"Why didn't you teach us?" Naruto demanded. I sighed, and turned to him, crossing my arms.

"I tried, but you two idiots wanted to spar, remember?" I asked. From his blush, he did remember me offering to teach, but they had both turned me down in hopes of training for more flash jutsus or just beating the snot out of each other.

I had been hurt that they had believed me to be trying to teach them something useless, when all I was doing was trying to help, so I had purposely forgotten about it so I could say '_I told you so'_ when they did inevitably learn it. It felt very satisfying to see their blushes as they realized that they had turned down the chance to learn something _very_ useful.

"Well then, it looks like little Kyoko-chan is already stronger than the Uchiha clan." Sasuke stiffened, his eyes gaze narrowing. "And closer to becoming Hokage as well." Naruto scowled, his hands tightening into fists. As one, both boys ran right to the trees, and ran up. As one, they fell right back down.

"Bakas," was my only response to the action, before I began to walk up and down the tree, trying to increase my chakra stores. I stopped long before they did, leaving to do water walking. Though I had dropped hints to both of them. Even though I hadn't had much help from Koemi when or Anko when they taught me, I could be at least a little nice to the two and help them.

I wasn't going to spell it out though. More fun to just watch and laugh at their failures.

Water walking was hard to do, especially with my chakra. It felt like the water was trying to repel my chakra, not to mention it was incredibly unstable. Constantly shifting about underneath me. Tree climbing at least had a more solid feel to it, but it also had the same repelling issue—just not as big as the water. I had the same issue with healing chakra, too. It took too much concentration to make my chakra mold itself into something that could heal.

Kabuto compared it to trying to force a wildfire to be a campfire. In the end I _had_ managed it... eventually. I highly doubted I would ever advance past shallow cuts and bruises, but that was certainly better than nothing.

After an hour of being on the water, Kakashi came and got me off. Water walking was more dangerous than tree climbing because of the fact if I passed out from exhaustion, I would drown. I'd never experienced chakra exhaustion, nor did I ever want to see what it felt like. From what I've heard it sounded horrible.

The boys were still at it, so I took a seat and watched them, finding amusement as they fell, over and over again. Every time one of them managed to get higher than the other, it would be a flurry of movement as the distance was met, and eventually overcome. Rivalry was a double edge sword, but it looks like they got the good side right now.

I hoped to never see the bad side.

* * *

And done. Hope you enjoy!

I have a bit of a rant coming, so bear with me. I had posted a One-shot called Monster, and I was fairly proud of it, until a reviewer, MrGoodyTwoShoes, told me to take it down on account of the fact it was 'a songfic'. I told him that it wasn't, despite being inspired by the song 'I Don't Wanna Die.' The bolded words I had used were simply to provide atmosphere. He claimed to have looked up the words, and found them to be lyrics, total bullshit, so I blocked him, and thought it was the end of it. It wasn't, as the story was taken down because someone had reported it. It was taken down for no real reason, other than the administration believing the words of a reviewer, who frankly, puts on airs and looks more important than he really is. We know the guidelines, no one needs to quote them at us. He doesn't even review helpfully, just quotes the guidelines, gives a line about how we broke them, and that's it. He's not useful, and he shouldn't be allowed to do so.

I'm upset at the fact no one asked for my side of the story, nor asked if I could defend myself. I'm also upset they hadn't let me save the story, as I no longer have a copy, other than a fragment I had sent to phoenixyfriend. I am planning on re-writing it and making it better, but I'll hold off on it due to being a bit bitter about the outcome that had happened.

Anyway, I have a beta! Yay! So no more grammar and spelling mishaps!

I also have some stories coming in the future, for those who are interested, though only one has made any real head way in writing.

**Ninja's In the House.** A story where a tattoo artist takes in a box of kitten for a month, and finds out they aren't really what they should be.

**Mass Effect: The Mother Effect** (Lame title, working on it) Commander Shepard adopts Naruto, along with the rest of the Normandy crew. Will be a slow updater due to the fact I do have other stories to take care of.

**Unnamed Self-Insert **Mass Effect Self Insert. Working on plot/characters.

Review please!


	17. Chapter 16

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

A single kunai flew at me, which I slapped out of the air with my bo, dodging the next few, as I kept my senses perked. Naruto and Sasuke had both grown tired of tree climbing, having been working on it for two days, so I offered a battle royal—the three of us, no holding back.

Though, even as I said that and agreed upon it, I _did_ hold back a bit. I had never willingly unleashed more than fifty percent of my weight seals. And from the destruction caused by them, I would never do so in a spar with my friends. There risks were too high that I could land a fatal blow. I couldn't risk that. _Wouldn't_ risk that.

Loud curses met my ears, and I sighed, as about twenty clones jumped on Sasuke, who had been the one throwing the kunai. The two of them focused on one another, Sasuke dispelling a clone left and right. Even at the rate he was dispelling them, two more would seemingly pop back in its place. I watched for a few minutes, feeling a mixture of amusement and mild irritation that they were intent on ignoring me and just beating the crap out of each other.

A few well-placed hits later, and I was the victor of the match, smirking down at them.

"You really need to learn to keep an eye on people other than yourselves," I told them, leaning on my staff. I wasn't quite able to hide the superior tone in my voice as I told them this either. "I could have been an enemy, and you two left yourselves wide open for attack."

Sasuke scowled at me flushing slightly from embarrassment at being defeated so easily by his own mistake. Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry Mirror, but... well, I really want to beat the teme!" He pointed at Sasuke as if to further prove his point, who only scowled in return. I giggled, finding the childish action and attitude of both of them endearing. Naruto gave me a weird look, as Sasuke flushed even more.

"You two are so adorable," I teased them, returning my bo to my back, and ruffling their hair. "Alright, now, back to work on tree climbing, the both of you."

"Aww, Mirror," Naruto complained, though he still started to turn back to his tree already intent on working.

"Don't _aww_ me. This is a vital skill, and even if I have to beat you two to learn it, I will." I kept an eye on them, as I mused through my bo style. After a long time of thought, I had named it 'Lotus Blossoms' in tribute to Gai and Lee. I also had fun coming up with creative ways to use 'Lotus' in each move's name. For instance, the move which I used to suck oxygen out from the air to put out a fire, I had named Lotus Tunnel. Lotus Wind was a move I used to combat wind techniques. Kabuto was the main reason I had created the move, having given me the idea of trying to cancel out a wind blast with another wind blast.

I was currently trying to figure out a way to combat water techniques. Water was weak against earth, so theoretically I could smash my bo into the ground, and use the earth raised by it to stop the technique, but the problem was keeping the earth in a shape I could use...

"How was guarding the old man today, Kyoko?" Sasuke asked, jarring me from my thoughts. I answered as I did a few swipes with my bo, trying to find a good rhythm.

"Not bad. Rather boring, really. He simply worked on the bridge, while I sat there, until I got bored and started giving him a hand. Some of his people though... they quit." My mind was cast back to earlier that day, when three of Tazuna's friends quit building, afraid of Gato and what he would do.

"Why would they do that?!" Naruto asked, falling with a loud thump onto the forest floor.

"They're scared," I replied, shrugging, as I slammed my bo into the dirt, trying to force a reasonable amount up.

"But, how can that justify leaving their friend?!" Naruto's loud exclamation made me sigh, as I turned towards him. He was so naive, an endearing trait sure, but at times it could be a bit of an inconvenience.

"Fear changes people. The kindest of people can kill someone out of fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of someone different than you, fear of someone stronger than you." My mind was thrown back to when I was a kid, and my cousin had been bullied almost constantly for her disabilities. The names they had called her were horrific, as they teased her for the fact she wasn't like them.

Others just ignored her, like she wasn't even there. I'm not sure what was worse, hearing them call her 'retard' or having them walk right past her. I didn't even think she knew. They were all afraid of her, because she was different. She wasn't like them, and she was victimized for it.

As was Naruto. They feared him, and that fear turned to hate. They hated him, because they feared him. They feared what he held captive inside himself and didn't even understand it. It was of a similar theme with the Wave villagers. They feared Gato, because he was powerful. He could have them killed in an instance, and they believed they couldn't do anything about it. They feared him, and it changed them into the submissive people they were now.

"There aren't many feelings stronger than fear. I can only think of two things off hand," I murmured, stopping my movements, and simply leaning on the staff, looking away from them, off into the distance.

"What?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide. Sasuke was listening as well, his face blank, but his eyes showed otherwise.

"Hate. Hate is one of the strongest feelings you could ever have, but at the same time, it is the worst you could have. Hate twists a person, makes them into something less than human. It can drive a person harder than fear, but in the end, it turns on you_. _If all you do is hate, then you're not living, you're just... existing."

I had hated him, so much. He'd taken away my youth, he'd taken away my dreams, and then he left me, with my baby. He came crawling back every once in a while, twisting his words and face to be loved by the child that _I_ raised. The child _I_ loved. Yet he couldn't be bothered to spare me the time of day, or truly care for her. Maya loved him anyway, then again she didn't really know the truth. He held a perfect mask and I'd be damned to hurt my baby. The hatred I felt for that man was something fierce. It would have consumed me, destroyed me, had Maya not been there. Had my little girl not been there by side to take my hand and pull me back.

I loved her so much.

"What's the other?" asked Sasuke, his eyes boring into me like a drill.

"Love." I smiled softly, my mind conjuring an image of Maya. It was blurry, but I could see her. Her bright, sunny smile, _her little dimples_. Her beautiful, clear laughter, _how it soothed me_. Her wonderful, inquisitive eyes, _how'd she see the world as such a miraculous thing when all I saw was something twisted and dark._ I could see her, my little girl. "Love can cause a woman to step in front of a sword for her child, it can cause a lover to lie to protect the other, it can cause siblings to do atrocious things, in order to protect one another. Love is so strong, that it can break even hate." It was love for my new family that made me who I was. Love for my friends, love for my family, love for _myself. _It was love that made me a shinobi. To protect your family was the highest accomplishment anyone could do.

After my impromptu talk, the boys continued their work, Naruto frowning as he thought about my words, while Sasuke... Sasuke…

Well.

I couldn't read him at all.

-0-

Supper was a silent affair, the large group of us simply eating. Naruto and Sasuke were both deep in thought, while I was just focusing on my food.

"So, how is your training going?" Tsunami asked, after a while of silence.

"Good," I replied, smiling at her. "I'm creating my own taijutsu style, and I'm slowly making a move to combat water style techniques. I want to test it out before I give it a name or anything." Kakashi hummed, reading his book, having eaten quickly while we were all distracted.

"I'll give you a hand when the bridge is finished. How about you two?" he asked the boys.

"I'm almost to the top of the tree!" cheered Naruto, smiling happily at Kakashi. Kakashi's eye crinkled in amusement as he ruffled Naruto's hair.

"I managed to make it all the way up," Sasuke said, smirking when Naruto scowled at him. I chuckled, eating my rice. They were adorable with their rivalry.

"Why try?" Inari hissed, his voice low and shaking. He lurched up from his spot at the table, nearly knocking his plate over. "You're all going to die anyway!"

"Well, of course," I conceded nonchalantly. "Everyone dies, it's as sure as the sun will set."

His face went red, and he screamed at me, "Don't play this off like it's nothing! _You're not a hero!_"

"I never said I was." I resisted the urge to raise my own voice, choosing instead to keep it level. "I'm a kid, and this was my first mission away from home. Do I wish I could sweep in, and save everyone? Yes. Can I? No, that is impossible to do so. I am a newly graduated genin, as green as grass. However, I can and will, protect you and your family to the fullest of my abilities. I will not give up, and I will not back down."

Inari scowled balefully at me, his eyes unusually bright before he turned on his heel and fled from the room. I stubbornly looked away, a little disappointed. I knew he didn't believe me, not quite yet. I couldn't exactly expect him to straight away anyway.

"What's his problem?" Naruto growled, slamming down his chopsticks. Tazuna sighed, and motioned to a photograph that was torn.

"He lost his father to Gato." With that opening, the reason why Inari was the way he was begun to pour from his lips. I listened with a heavy heart, already anticipating that it would not be pretty.

**Back in Konoha...**

"So, he hasn't been seen, at all," Koemi remarked, looking over the report. "For about two weeks..." Anko nodded, chewing on a dango stick, as she looked through her own copy of the report on Kabuto.

"No trace of him whatsoever, and as we were unable to search his apartment, there is no lead whatsoever." Koemi at this groaned, tossing the file down.

"It could be nothing," she muttered, rubbing her eyes, "But, I... I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this." Anko nodded, watching her friend worriedly.

"How's the next Green Beast?" Anko finally asked. Koemi made a face at her friend.

"Don't call him that, it gives me horrible images." An image of a baby dressed in green spandex, smiling widely, doing the good guy pose ran through her head, causing her to shudder. It was not an image she wanted to see. "The first ultrasound is later today."

"I call dibs on being godmother!" Anko cackled. Koemi only sighed, as she stood, stretching her back muscles.

"Fine-" She flinched, sitting back down. "Dammit."

Unable to take her medication anymore she was forced to deal with the cramps on her own. Needless to say this wasn't a very pleasant experience for her.

"Need anything?" Anko asked. Koemi closed her eyes, sagging her body wearily.

"Yeah, I've gotten new painkillers. They dull it enough so I can move." She motioned towards her kitchen, which Anko headed towards. Koemi had been forced right away into maternity leave, due to the fact her pregnancy was much more dangerous and risky compared to others.

"As soon as you met him, what did you think about Kabuto?" asked Koemi, as she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain.

"He's... slick. Very smooth," Anko answered after a while, coming back in while doing so. "I... I don't think I trust him. But then, I don't really trust anyone."

Koemi gave a slight nod, acknowledging and agreeing with Akno's statement.

"I've never liked him," she admitted, taking the pills and swallowing them dry. "I placed it on my dislike for medical chakra... but... I don't know anymore. Something is off about him. He's far too intelligent to have failed so often, even though he cites injury almost the entire time! It… it isn't right," Koemi muttered, slamming her hand onto the arm of her chair, breaking it off. "And he's almost _always_ around Kyoko, what if he has something planned with her? She's my kid, _mine!_ I am _not_ going to let that four-eyed brat hurt her. I'll rip his arms off before I do so!"

A hand was placed on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.

"Koemi, calm down," Gai soothed, as he gently squeezed her shoulder. "Take a deep breath." Lee picked up the arm of the chair as Gai focused on calming down the mother bear, who was definitely not happy about being calmed down.

"I will not let any harm come to my kids!" she snarled. "Lee and Kyoko are _mine."_

Lee dropped the arm, whipping around to stare at the angry woman in stunned silence. Despite the fact she was kind to him, she'd never outright stated she thought of him as her own.

He felt a rush of warmth and gratitude wash over him. In a sudden spur of emotion, Lee went over to Koemi before hugging her tightly. "Thank you kaa-chan!"

Koemi blushed, patting the boy on his head.

"You're welcome, gaki."

He continued to grin happily, still hugging her. Koemi sighed, running a hand through his hair, wrinkling her nose at the amount of gel he had.

"Your hair is thick with this crap," she remarked. "Just like Gai's." Lee's grin took a more sheepish turn from this comment. "At least Kyoko is smart, and keeps her hair clean of this." Koemi removed her hand, wrinkling her nose at the fact she actually had gel on her hand.

"Yosh! She is like you, my Black Lotus!" Gai said cheerfully, hugging Koemi from the other side.

"Aw, family moment," Anko snickered, grinning at the group. Koemi rolled her eyes while Lee and Gai cheered. "Now, who wants to take bets about the ultrasound?"

"Anko, all we're doing is listening to the heartbeat," Koemi said, rolling her eyes. Anko pouted, crossing her arms, making both Gai and Lee look away, blushing.

"Well, I bet that you'll have triplets!"

"Anko, if I'm having triplets, then I will name you godmother for all of them," Koemi said dryly, as she untangled herself from the mess of limbs. "Now, I actually do have to go. You two coming?" she asked the boys, smiling at them.

"Yosh!" Lee said, nodding, as Gai did the good guy pose. Koemi laughed at the two, and lead the way to the hospital, telling Anko to continue with the search, which she agreed to. Something was up with Kabuto, and it was up to them to figure it out.

"What if it is triplets?" Lee asked, as the approached the large building. Koemi snorted, shaking her head.

"Then Anko will be the godmother, and I'll be regretting it for the rest of my life..."

-0-

"So, here we go," said the medical-nin. They had requested one who was certified for pregnancy, instead of a trauma doctor like Sato had been. It was a Yamanaka, who was way too perky for Koemi's tastes, but still, she seemed to know what she was doing. Koemi held still, pointedly not looking at the green chakra, as the woman amplified the small heartbeat of her baby.

_**Thump-Thump.**_

Koemi frowned, hearing the sound.

"Isn't that... loud for a baby?"

Yamanaka smiled happily at Koemi, as Gai looked at Koemi's stomach with joy and love, as Lee was bouncing on his feet in excitement.

"There's three heartbeats, aside from your own. Congratulations, you're having triplets."

Koemi froze, eyes wide, as Gai's mouth dropped open, and Lee stopped bouncing.

"DAMMIT!"

**Unknown Location...**

"I find it odd, Kabuto," remarked a tall snake like man, who watched his spy experiment on the body they had found.

"What do you find odd, Orchimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto, not bothering to look up.

"You teaching this girl. I understand keeping a low profile, but, why do it for so long? Why begin anyway?" Orchimaru asked, glancing over a few papers. Kabuto chuckled, adjusting his glasses.

"I began because her code was intriguing. I had never seen it before, and her idea behind her taijutsu style was fascinating. I didn't expect for her to be the puzzle she became."

"A puzzle?" Orchimaru murmured almost absently, his voice velvety smooth. Kabuto only smirked.

"Kyoko-chan is a puzzle because there is more to her than meets the eye. At times she embraces her rather _youthful_ side and other times she seems far too mature. Two completely contradictory sides, it begs the question of which one is dominate, does it not? For if she is as deep as I believe her to be, then why is she hiding it? She has nothing to lose, if anything she'd have things to _gain_. And then there's the question of what brought upon this maturity? From what I've seen and what I know about her… it almost seems as if this side of her was almost…"

Kabuto paused, trialing off as he thought carefully over his next words. "It is… suspicious. If I didn't know any better I would say she was a grown woman trapped inside a child. It is… different than what one would expect, especially considering the usual face she wears. It's intriguing, is it not?"

"A woman trapped inside a child's body," Orochimaru murmured. "An interesting notion, seemingly preposterous. Why do you think this, Kabuto?"

"I cannot explain it very well," Kabuto confessed, studying his autopsy. "I just… catch that sort of feeling from her. When she is too lost in thought and oblivious to her surroundings, her guard down, I catch the strangest gaze from her."

Orochimaru inclined his head, indicating to continue.

"The same gaze I see from a mother who has lost her child," Kabuto hummed, pulling his bloodied gloves off. "She's far too young to even conceive a child yet…"

"A woman in a child's body," Orochimaru repeated, a sort of musing tone in his voice. "Could it be possible, I wonder…? How interesting… Tell me, Kabuto, do you think she would care to join us?"

"No, she's too happy with her life in Konoha to agree to leave. She also has Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, and many others behind her, so kidnapping her as well as Sasuke-kun would not be advisable," Kabuto answered, shaking his head.

"Perhaps later then," Ochimaru said, nodding. It would not be a good idea to go against to many powerful people. Many people would wish to drag Sasuke home along as it was, there was no need to add to it.

After he took Sasuke's body though... then he would see what secrets the girl was hiding.

He was sure they would be the most interesting to see.

* * *

Let's all take a moment, and worship the amazing beta I have. I could not have done this chapter without her help, so THANK YOU!

Anyway, this I wanted to get up because it's my birthday tomorrow! Also, I'm nearing the two week deadline I impose on myself. So, yes, it's a bit of a filler, but it does further along the subplot of Koemi being pregnant, as well as her and Anko being suspicious of Kabuto. Also, adds in a future main plot point.

Kabuto was bound to notice something sooner or later. This just shows that people are questioning her, just a bit. Will anyone find out the truth? Maybe, maybe not, you'll have to find out later.

Shameless self advertisement: The reworked version of _Monster_is up and running, as well as my kitten story, for all those who are interested.

Review please!


	18. Chapter 17

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

I sat cross-legged on the roof of the house, staring at the stars above me. Naruto had run off after the story had been told, determined to prove that heroes existed. Sasuke hadn't outwardly reacted much during the story, but I had noticed how his knuckles went white during the story. He must have been furious.

During the story... I hadn't really thought much of anything, I just listened. I had been right, it wasn't a nice story, but it could have been so much worse. Perhaps it was the fact I was much older then I really was, but... I truly though Inari was being a bit of a brat. He still had his grandfather and his mother. Gato could have taken both of them away- Hell, he was trying to take away Tazuna right now, and Inari wanted us to _give up_?_Seriously? _I was really tempted to give him a slap upside the head for that. Really, I was.

"How is my cute niece doing?" a voice asked from behind me. I jumped, reaching for my leg pouch, before I stopped, turning to face Kakashi, who smiled lazily at me.

"Alright. I'm just... thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," Kakashi said cheerfully, dropping down to sit beside me. I scowled at him, but then turned back to looking at the stars. "You didn't seem moved by Tazuna's story."

"What was there to be moved about? I can partly empathize with Inari a bit about losing a parent, but... he's being so... stupid." I shook my head, disgusted and exasperated. "He doesn't realize that some people have it so much worse than him and he isn't very grateful about what he _does_ have. And then just saying heroes don't exist at all—after just _one _bump. It's just..." I bit my lip, trying to find the right word to explain my thoughts. "They don't... they don't always fit the story book heroes. Real life heroes… almost never are the same as fairytale heroes. I mean... look at you, you're a hero."

"But I don't fit the stereotype?" Kakashi asked, leaning backwards onto his lower arms, stretching his legs out.

"Nope," I snorted, shaking my head. "You're a shinobi, not a kni—samuri," I stopped, changing gears and wincing at my near slip up. I mentally prayed he didn't catch it, but I was almost certain he had. He was a Jōnin. "The Shinobi code of honor is pretty much whatever fits for the mission at hand. Morals have no real place in our lives. It's kill or be killed. In the stories, heroes are always righteous and have socially acceptable iron strong morals. Shinobi don't have morals... or at least they're not supposed to. When Inari, and even Naruto to some degree, thinks of heroes they think of the story book heroes. But they don't exist in the real world. Real heroes are the people who fight for their homes, for their families, for what they believe in. They do whatever it takes, even if it may not be the most morally right choice."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Kakashi slowly stood up, remarking, "I am always surprised by how mature you are Kyoko-chan."

He left me alone while I digested his words, my gut not really liking the sound of them. After a while of thinking them over I gave a sigh of frustrated annoyance at my mistake.

Kakashi was suspicious of how mature I was. No matter how mature an average thirteen-year-old was, they could not formulate an entire response like I had. They couldn't, especially since I was actually drawing from life experiences in it. I had met a handful of heroes in my life; all were the same, they heroes because of what they fought for, not how they fought.

I sat on the roof, contemplating on how the Hell I could get out of this mess, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized Kakashi probably had suspicions about me all along. He's been in contact with me for such a long time he must have developed his suspicions, and considering his last statement it meant that he had realized I was more mature for my age a while ago. Which in a way made sense as Kakashi was considered a child prodigy. He could probably recognize a more mature mind in a younger child better than anyone.

As I turned back to go inside, I wondered if anyone else held any suspicions about me. It was a slightly frightening thought; after all, Kakashi keeping an eye on me was one thing, but what if it was someone else? Someone who didn't like me, and wouldn't care if they hurt me in the process. I knew how prodigies were received in this world. I didn't want that burden. I've had enough of responsibilities and burdens in my past life. I refused to be saddled with any more against my will. But still… if they had discovered it… And if they were willing to go against my wishes and use my 'prodigy' mindset against me…

I sincerely hoped that wasn't the case.

-0-

In the morning, I went hunting for Naruto before breakfast, annoyed at him for staying out late the night before. What if he had gotten sick? Or what if Zabuza had found him?

I found my way to the clearing, coming upon him chatting with a pretty figure in a kimono. I felt a flash of confusion go through me, as I walked forward. I found the person slightly attractive, just an idle, _'oh, he/she is hot!_' and then you move on kind of attractiveness but I had never liked girls before. I had experimented as a teen, I knew what I was attracted to, so why...?

When I reached them, I got a full look at the person, and realized that the figure was in fact a male. I felt a flash of empathy flow through me. I knew what it was like to be constantly mistaken for the other gender.

"Mirror!" Naruto called upon seeing me, waving happily. The figure had stiffened for a second before he relaxed once more.

"Why did you stay out the entire night?" I asked, glaring at Naruto. "You could have caught a cold, or Zabuza could have stumbled upon you." I hit him upside the head gently, as I scolded him. "And then we would have had to swoop in and save you."

"Which you would have liked, because then you could have oggled Zabuza," grumbled Naruto, rubbing his head, blushing slightly.

"He's attractive, look at those muscles he had! I dare you to be a girl, my age, and not drool over them. And we are discussing you, not-" a strangled noise made me turn to look at the boy beside Naruto, who was covering his mouth, looking as if he had been told the greatest secret ever. "Oh! Sorry," I apologized, blushing. "I'm Kyoko, and you are?"

"Haku," he said, shaking my offered hand. "So, you're a shinobi as well?"

"Mirror was the top kunoichi," exclaimed Naruto loyally, smiling at me. I grinned and ruffled his blonde hair. I could never stay mad at him for too long, it would be like kicking a puppy.

"I'm not that good," I said shyly. I was never really too good with praise focused on me. "I'm better then some, but definitely not the best. I hardly ever win against Sasuke, for example."

"You could beat that teme anytime!"

"Don't insult your teammate," I retorted halfheartedly, as I studied the flowers he had in his arms. "What are the herbs for?"

"A friend of mine is injured," said Haku, smiling at me, before his lips trembled as if he was trying not to laugh. I watched him, confused, before I began to help pick the right herbs. We worked in silence until Haku began to speak, "What do you fight for?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by the suddenness of the question.

"Do you have someone precious to fight for?"

I considered his question, getting the feeling that my response would be very important to him. I had Gai, Lee, Koemi, Shino and Kakashi as my family... And I had my boys. I wasn't sure what I would classify Naruto and Sasuke as, but they were mine. My boys, my teammates. I would die for them, and I think they would do the same for me.

"I have a lot more than one, and one of those people is this idiot." I ruffled Naruto's hair. He made an offended noise at me calling him an idiot, and jumped onto me. We rolled around for a few minutes, wrestling, as Haku watched on in mild amusement. I lost, though I wasn't really trying to win. I just liked roughhousing with Naruto, and Sasuke when we could convince him. It made me feel all happy and warm, knowing we were all having fun together.

"Nothing is better than fighting for your precious people," said Haku. I grinned a bit. I had died for one of my precious people, and I had killed for another. I knew exactly what kind of power fighting to protect someone you loved gave you.

"How do you know so much about this?" I asked after a moment. There was this nagging part of me that there was something off about Haku. Almost like a sixth sense. It had gone off when he asked that question but I couldn't really explain why. Even the question itself seemed oddly familiar to me.

"I travel a lot, and I have seen many shinobi," Haku said.

His answer seemed simple and truthful enough. But I knew the best lies had a little bit of truth in them. I just couldn't seem to shake off the feeling that there was something off about the situation.

Haku seemed to sense that, because he left soon after. But before he left, he specifically turned to Naruto and said, "By the way, I'm a boy."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Duh."

I turned to talk to Naruto, only to stop in amusement. "Wait, seriously?"

"… Shut up."

"You're friends with me, how could you _not_ tell?"

"Shut up!"

"I wonder what Sasuke-" and with that, another wrestling match ensured, with me laughing the entire time. It was hilarious, and even Naruto ended up seeing the funny side after I sat on him for a few minutes.

We headed back to the house, laughing and teasing one another. We ran into Sasuke, who seemed bemused by us. He was even more amused after I told him the story, Naruto protesting in the background.

"Really, dobe? You spend all your time around Kyoko, and you can't tell when someone is androgynous?" Naruto scowled at us, as we teased him back to the house, where everyone heard the story, Kakashi was inevitably entertained by the entire thing.

"Maybe someone should take more lessons in looking underneath the underneath."

"Shut up," Naruto grumbled, heading off to take a shower. He stunk from working out all night, and sleeping in the dirt. When he came back, the thee of us continued mocking him through breakfast. Tazuna even joined in once he had learned what happened. Tsunami rolled her eyes, but looked entertained by our banter, while Inari just annoyingly brooded.

It was a good day.

-0-

Our next few days until the fight were spent training. Naruto finally managed to get to the top of the tree, while Sasuke had learned water walking. I was busy with water walking, as well as my taijutsu.

The night before the seventh day, they day we agreed Zabuza would most likely attack on, I was out, working on refining _Lotus Tunnel_. I was adding a small part to it, so I could use it in different situations. I was adding a jump to it so I could use the momentum I had gained and I would launch myself at my opponent. With the force I built up, I could kill or knock out my opponent in one hit, an aspect that would prove most useful.

However, as I finished figuring out the perfect time to jump during the _Lotus Tunnel_ (too soon and I had little control, too late and I had too much momentum), I saw Naruto run out of the house, angry about something. I sighed, figuring it was Inari again. I went inside the kitchen, where the group was. Tsunami, Tazuna, Inari and Sasuke all looked shocked by whatever Naruto's words had been. Kakashi looked as if he had been expecting it.

"Naruto finally snap over the idea Inari was being an idiot?" I asked idly. Inari turned and scowled at me. I in turn gave him a flat stare. "You were, brat."

"What do you know suffering, any of you?" Inari growled, glaring at me.

"I lost both of my parents as a baby. I have no memory of them." That was a lie, but hey, a white lie wouldn't hurt in this situation. "Naruto has no parents either, and Sasuke... his entire family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and his parents, were all killed. I'm the lucky one of my teammates. I had my brother, even after my parents died, and I was more or less adopted by a Jōnin of our village, because he had taken a shine to Lee and I. However, I do know what it is like... to have no parents. Matrons don't really count and Lee is my brother, he isn't my father, nor is he my mother. I was also liked by the village. Naruto never had that luxury. They've always hated him. Have you ever been hated by an entire village, for something that you never did?"

Unbidden, I thought back to when I had told my mother I was pregnant. She had kicked me out and refused to let me come back, not then, not really ever. I was forced to do it all by myself. I stayed in a shelter, I got a job, and I struggled through my pregnancy. I nearly lost my baby twice, from stress, but Maya held on. Giving birth to her had been the best thing that happened to me in my life. Seeing her for the first time... I couldn't really describe it. However, it had made me hate my mother, for forgetting this feeling, this love I held, that she had held, for her daughter. Maya was two, when my mother finally apologized for what she had done.

I had and never would forgive her, but my mother had helped me through the rough times after that, so I tolerated her. I just would never forgive her for not loving me, for not accepting I had screwed up, because I was still me. I was still her baby girl. And that rejection… that utter loathing in her face and horror and disappointment.

I could still taste the bile that had risen in my throat from it. The self-loathing I felt. The fear. How helpless I had felt… no control over a thing in my life. The anticipation when I told the woman I admired so much and would so desperately need more than anything… only for her to shove me down. I hated her. I hated myself. I hated everything. At one point, I even hated Maya.

Most of that changed with time. I loved Maya ever since the first sonogram. Because she was _mine_. She was _my_ baby and _my_ child. At the time I felt like I didn't really have anything but her. I latched onto her and I loved her endlessly. As I said before, I tolerated my mother but I couldn't bring myself to open up to her again. I couldn't bear to be hurt so much… so carelessly again.

In that sense… in that sense I could relate to Naruto. He was rejected by the people he craved to be loved by. While he had never trusted them like I had trusted my own mother, the concept was similar enough that I could relate.

Inari had not gone through that, he had not gone through what Naruto had gone through, he had not gone through what Sasuke had gone through. He sure as hell would not, nor ever would go through what I had gone through. He was in the wrong, assuming we had not suffered. He was being a little brat about it too.

"I can't say I have ever truly suffered," an utter lie there, but I was not bringing up my reincarnation. "But, you keep your mouth shut about Naruto, understand you little brat?"

I glowered darkly at Inari who refused to look me in the eye anymore. Satisfied I had gotten the last word in I stormed upstairs, not looking back.

I heard Inari run out, as Kakashi confirmed what I had said about Naruto and Sasuke, who had been silent the entire time, though he had been glaring at Inari the entire time.

I dropped onto the bed I had been given, and laid there. I ignored Sasuke when he came in, and just stared up at the ceiling, until sleep claimed me.

I would need my rest for tomorrow.

* * *

**OMAKE:**

Haku smirked as he entered the hideout, herbs in hand. Zabuza looked up from where he was working out, slightly incredulous at the expression on Haku's face.

"What got you so amused?"

"I ran into two of Kakashi's genin. The blond, and the girl," Haku explained, his lips twitching as he sat the basket down. Zabuza grunted, watching Haku closely.

"That doesn't explain the grin."

"It seems you have a bit of a fan," Haku chuckled, grinning at Zabuza who just stared, confused at Haku. "Kyoko-chan, the girl, has quite the fascination with your muscles. She told Naruto that he should try to be a girl her age, and not drool over them." Zabuza stared, open mouthed. "I suppose you would be attractive to preteen girls."

"… Shut up."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, grinning still.

"Wipe that grin off your face."

"I am so trying, I swear, Zabuza-sama."

-0-

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter is the big one, fight and everything.

I didn't have the whole blow up fight thing with Inari because everyone does it, and honestly I get bored of reading it all the time, so I didn't want to write it either. This is a nice exchange in my honest opinion. The omake was written for fun, because come on, you know Haku would freaking love to tease Zabuza over it.

I am, once again, shamelessly promoting a story: Dysphoria. It's another self insert, and it's actually one I anticipate having fun with. KBL is fun, but Dysphoria is a way to expand my writing skills. Read it please!

And, Review please!


	19. Chapter 18

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

**NEW FANART! Link on profile.**

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi brought Naruto in, passed out. I sighed, but assisted him in placing Naruto on the futon before we left. Naruto was, despite many people's belief, a very light sleeper. He would know if anyone tried to break in.

We walked to the bridge, keeping an eye out for Zabuza and his accomplice. When we walked through the town we ended up walking through a thick fog. I frowned, feeling weary of it.

"Wasn't there a fog before?" I asked Sasuke softly. He nodded his head, eye dashing around. I nodded, tapping my arms, releasing over twenty gravity seals, each arm. I had forsaken leg weights for the day, knowing I would need to be light on my feet. Zabuza's apprentice used senbon, which were tricky to dodge. I was faster than Sasuke, and Naruto, but it would still be hard pressed to dodge swiftly enough, even without the weights on.

Reaching the bridge, we began to see the fog roll away.

I nearly retched at the sight of the construction crew slaughtered. No one had survived, _no one._ The bodies just laid there, in their own blood. All were chopped to pieces though. None had any senbon in them. It seemed Zabuza preferred to do the killing, while his apprentice had hung back.

"Oh Kami..." Tazuna whispered, staring at the scene before him, face completely pale. I moved, angling myself to a better position to protect him. I drew my bo out of its place on my back, watching the fog warily, as it retreated back. Standing, on the other side of the bridge, was Zabuza and his masked accomplice. A flash of confusion ran through me, looking at the boy. His hair seemed familiar... but then, anyone's hair can seem familiar. I pushed it out of my mind, and refocused on the mission objective.

Protect the client.

"You want to handle the apprentice, or should I?" I asked Sasuke softly, as Zabuza and Kakashi conversed, Kakashi trying to give us time to work out a plan. We hadn't quite decided what we wanted to do with the apprentice. I could dodge the senbon, and I was close range. I could potentially subdue the masked boy, if I got close enough to hit him, but it was only a slim chance I could do so. Sasuke was a mix of close and long range attacks. He had a larger chance of beating the masked boy. I was also stronger, and if worst came to worst, I could pick up Tazuna and run. It was only a last resort though. I didn't want to abandon my boys. Ever.

_Ever._

"I'll handle him. If I need you to take over, I'll call for you," Sasuke replied, as he ran forward. I nodded, as the battle began. Sasuke attacked the boy, who fought him off. The two adults, watched, surprised at the sudden battle.

"How can that brat..." Zabuza asked out loud, watching Sasuke duck, and move around the boy.

"Sasuke is one of the best Genin in Konoha," Kakashi answered, as the fight raged on. I only paid half attention, as I was trying to keep my utmost attention on Tazuna. He was the mission objective after all, and I had faith in Sasuke. He would not fail.

However, hearing Sasuke curse, made me turn my attention right to him. He had thrown a punch, and his fist was caught by the masked boy. He didn't curse about that though, no, he was cursing because it turned out, and the boy could use one handed seals.

"Dammit," I said, unleashing twenty more seals on each side. Forty percent power. Enough I could carry Tazuna, while dodging, and potentially fighting off an opponent.

The only jutsu I actually used most, replacement, was one I could use while wielding my bo. It was a tricky set of movements, but I could do it. I never bothered with most jutsus. I could never quite get the hang of them. My chakra levels were just too small to bother with anything, other than taijutsu and medical jutsu. However, I knew for a fact that the skill needed for one hand seals... it was far beyond my level, far beyond Sasuke's level.

As I watched water close in around them, freezing, some dull part of me panicked at the thought of actually fighting and _dying. _But a larger part of me quickly smashed that part. I had already accepted my life as a shinobi. I'd be damned if I didn't give it my all.

I only caught bare glimpses of the fight between Sasuke and the other, while Zabuza and Kakashi attacked each other, Kakashi using a kunai to defend himself against the sword Zabuza carried. I was too busy to pay real attention. I was busy searching, looking all around me, just in case of any other accomplices. It was lucky I was.

"Shit!" I grabbed Tazuna, jumping away from the swing of a sword. Zabuza seemed to have decided that sneaking a water Bushin up behind me was a great way to eliminate the target.

It was, but I found it annoying at the time, as I was pressed into a fight with the bushin, as I tried to keep Tazuna safe.

As the sword came down, I snapped up my bo, slapping away the sword. Tazuna kept a bit of the way back, watching with wide eyes. Zabuza had only made one clone, trying to preserve chakra most likely, but it was much more difficult to fight than the one before, where I had taken the clone by surprise.

I felt my blood pump, as I fought. I welcomed the adrenaline, needing every advantage. A water bushin only had a tenth of the strength the real thing had, but it was still stronger than me. I ducked the sword when it came at me, going in for a thrust with my bo which was dodged. I focused solely on the clone, as the deadly dance every weapon user does began.

Everyone agrees that using a sword is a dance, but any true master of a weapon can make their fighting look like a dance. After training for years with my bo, I was good enough with it, that I could make it look like I was dancing, though awkwardly.

Zabuza was truly a master of his blade. He moved seamlessly his muscles carrying the weapon with ease, as he swung and chopped, forcing me to duck, to dodge, and to jump to avoid the blade. In return, he dodged the movements of my bo perfectly, obviously having met a bo user before.

I dodged, ducked and jumped, evading as good as I could. I wasn't successful every time. He got my left arm, making me hiss at the deep cut. I had no time to heal it, so I ignored it, even though I could feel the blood drip down my arm.

He made another move, thrusting the blade at me, which I jumped back from. It barely missed hitting me, which sent a shiver down my spine. _I really could die today..._ I thought, as I ducked under a swing.

I wasn't paying attention to his feet, a rookie mistake, as I dove around another swing. He kicked out at me, catching my stomach, and throwing me back. Luckily, I didn't hit Tazuna. I jumped up, wincing. The bushin probably cracked one of my ribs with that.

I wasn't fast enough to fully avoid the swing of the weapon as the clone suddenly bored down on me. Instead, I lifted my bo, praying that Koemi was right, and that the wood it was made out of would not break.

The sword came down with a thwack, and my bo shuddered, but held, even as I was forced to one knee under the pressure. I faced the clone, breathing heavily.

"You're surprisingly not bad, trained by that bo master I've heard about... Tanaka something," chuckled the clone. I wasn't too surprised he heard of her. Koemi knew a fair amount of weapon masters, mostly through gossip. It was their way of staying connected, and learning about new things. I _was_ surprised he still knew of her, since she was now a T&I ninja.

"She's a good teacher, almost as good as Kakashi-sensei," I panted. I pushed up, as he pushed down. I ran a quick pulse through my arms. Fifty percent power. I managed to push harder against the blade. I was not about to lose.

"Heh, weak." I was forced down even harder. "No shinobi ninja would have let themselves be caught like this." I tried to force the blade up, but he was too strong. I closed my eyes and took a breath. Then, the pulse came again.

Seventy percent. I shoved with all my might, catching the man off guard. I managed to stand, still unable to shake him, but I was standing. I was panting, shaking and I felt my blood drip out of my many cuts and wounds, but I was standing.

My miracle happened then, Naruto appearing out of nowhere, claiming that there was no need to fear. The clone was distracted for a second, but it was all I needed to kick out, smashing into his stomach, as hard as I could. It popped with a splash, soaking my leg, but I was thankful I wasn't dead, so I honestly did not care about my pants.

"You're as bad as Kakashi-sensei Naruto," I said, as my hands glowed green. I healed my cuts, as I continued, "You're late."

"I had to save Inari and Tsunami! There were these thugs, and they were attacking and-"

"You left kage bushin with them, right?" I asked, interrupting him.

"I remembered to! Don't worry!" he said, grinning. "Now... what's with the... ice thing?" he pointed at the cage Sasuke was in.

"Sasuke got caught by Zabuza's apprentice," I answered, steadying my breathing. "Think you can handle it?"

"Yeah, I've got this." Naruto said, grinning, as he jumped right into the cage.

"I thought it was impenetrable," Tazuna said, staring at it.

"Probably from the inside..." I froze, staring at the cage, then said, "I may need to carry you eventually. I may be called upon to break my teammates out."

"Are you sure you can..." I turned, giving him an unimpressed stare. "Right, super strong shinobi."

I scoffed, turning back to keeping an eye on my surroundings. I did watch some of the fight with the real Zabuza and Kakashi.

It was part dance, part battle of wills, as jutsu clashed, along with kunai and sword. They spoke the entire time, just taunting each other I watched, mystified for a few minutes, before I turned back to surveying the surroundings.

Then, it happened. A feral scream sounded from the ice cage. I whirled around, wide eyes, as a deep dark presence echoed from it. I had only read about killing intent, so it was my first time feeling it.

It felt horrific, like nothing I had ever felt before. It reached into my freaking soul, and tore away all the good, all the bad, leaving me with nothing. I felt every single bad thing that had happened to me, happen over and over and over again, like there was a movie showing it all, and it was stuck on repeat.

I mentally wondered, not really knowing why, if this was what a Dementor felt like, from the Harry Potter books, as one side of the cage shattered, throwing out the masked shinobi. A blur followed him, an orange blur.

"Naruto!" I cried out, taking a step forward, but stopping. The ice had crashed, leaving behind a figure. "SASUKE!"

I moved, hoisting Tazuna onto my back, and running over to the collapsed figure. I let the client down, dropping to my knees beside Sasuke, my bo clattering to the ground. My hand went to his neck, and I felt...

_No pulse._ I yanked out all of the needles in his body, as swiftly, but as gently as possible. I coated my hands in healing chakra, not caring about my own levels as I pressed them onto his chest. I focused, being as careful as possible while adrenaline ran through me. I felt the cuts begin to heal up, and let out a sigh of relief. Once they were done, I checked again.

_No pulse._ Panic set in then. I didn't dare try and do anything in my state. I could kill him if I tried any real medical chakra. Instead, I went to place my hand on his heart, reaching out with my chakra. Nothing.

I felt my heart clench, but then, I felt it. His chest lifted ever so slightly. _He was breathing._

I whirled around, seeing Naruto, still orange, about to strike.

"He's alive!" I cried out. It was foolish sentiment. I... I didn't want Naruto to kill so soon. I knew he would one day, but right then, I wanted to keep him the same cheery boy I'd always known. I knew, that if he killed someone, he would regret it, always, no matter who he killed, nor what their crime. He would regret killing them, until the day he died. It was in his nature, and it was natural. I still regretted killing the Chūnin from before, even though I knew it was necessary.

I didn't want to see that pain on Naruto's face.

Naruto stopped, the orange fading, as the mask fell off the boy. It was Haku.

"You bastard!" I yelled out, as Naruto exclaimed something along the same lines. I stood, grabbing my bo, storming up to them.

"Hello Kyoko-chan, Naruto-kun." said Haku, looking... tired for some reason. Like he had a long day, that was finally coming to an end.

"Why?" asked Naruto, and Haku began to explain.

"In the Mist, those with bloodlines are considered dangerous." Before our eyes Haku seemed to age. "When I showed an ability with ice, my mother told me to keep it a secret. However, my father saw me create ice in the background." I bit my lip, realizing what this could become. "My mother was murdered by my father, and the mob he led to us."

"Son of a..." I whispered, staring at Haku. _This boy went through that, and he was still sane? How could he be so calm about this?_

"I killed my father, and fled shortly after," Haku continued, ignoring me, as I felt my hands clench slightly. No child should have to go through that. Not a single one. "I lived on the streets, until Zabuza-sama found me. It was then, that I became his tool. I swore to serve him, and help him achieve his dream... and I have failed." he looked right at us, and asked, in a voice that was completely accepting. "Please, kill me."

As Naruto spluttered, I looked right into Haku's eyes, and realized that he really thought he had failed Zabuza. He had lived most of his life for the missing-nin, and now it seemed like it was all slipping away from him. I closed my eyes, and moved.

Haku was knocked unconscious, before Naruto had even moved.

"He's just unconscious," I told Naruto, pulling out Koemi's scroll. I took the rope out of it, and began to tie up Haku, though I made sure the ties were not the normal knots Shinobi were taught to escape from rope early on in the academy, so I was fairly sure Haku knew how to escape normal ties, even if he had never gone to a real academy. "After Zabuza is killed, we need someone to interrogate about Gato. I don't think he'd give up easily."

After I was finished, a sword suddenly came down. Naruto and I rolled out of the way, as Zabuza stood above us, Kakashi running towards him. Zabuza did not look pleased, as he swung the sword once more, forcing us to dodge again.

The mist began to thicken and I felt an almost brief sense of panic. It didn't last long as my attention was quickly called away by loud growls that echoed around the fog. I felt myself relaxing minutely at the sound. Focusing my eyes, I soon found an immobilized Zabuza. Kakashi was panting, as he began to do something, chakra gathering in his palm. I watched, with wide eyes, but before he could complete his technique, the mist cleared, and we could see across the bridge.

An army had gathered, surrounding a short man dressed in a business suit.

"What is the meaning of this?!" growled Zabuza, glaring at the man.

"I thought you were a Demon Zabuza," mocked the man. "But it seems that you're just a baby demon."

I raised an eyebrow at the attitude. All I could think, really, was _what an idiot. _Any person experienced with dealing with shinobi knows you don't mock the shinobi. That's just asking for it. Any shinobi worth his salt can kill twenty bandits, without sweating... okay, Genin couldn't normally, but Jōnin and Chūnin could. Bandits were never dangerous enough for experienced shinobi, though luck sometimes did play into their hands. There were plenty of horror stories about shinobi dying at the hands of bandits, though most sounded stupid. I mean, throwing a spoon, and magically hitting a shinobi in the mouth, while he chewed on a senbon? Yeah, no. The only thing more idiotic than insulting a shinobi, was threatening not to pay them. That bought you a one way ticket six feet under.

"Good thing I was never planning on paying," gloated the man.

_He is so dead._

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it!

This has always bugged me: Why not use a bushin to try and kill Tazuna? I mean, I understand that he wants to save his chakra, but it makes more sense that he sneaks a bushin up behind them, while fighting Kakashi.

Kyoko beat him, because it was only a tenth of Zabuza's power, and it was distracted. But, in case your wondering: At full strength, she can shatter a bolder, and break a tree. She is half as fast as Lee was during the chunin exams in the canon world. Lee is three times as fast as he was, in this fic because he's been working longer at it.

Cliff hangery ending because I didn't want to bother with writing two fight scenes. As I keep to a two week cycle, this shouldn't be to bad... I hope.

Review please!


	20. Chapter 19

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

The fight that followed Gato's stupid announcement was one of the biggest fights of my Genin career. Zabuza had glared at Gato the entire time he spoke, bragging about his intelligence in killing all of us off, and acquiring the bounties.

"And it seems the brat who nearly broke my arm is beaten," sneered Gato, glaring at the bound form of Haku.

"Well, it looks like we aren't enemies anymore," Zabuza muttered ironically, sparring us the briefest of glances.

"It seems we're not," agreed Kakashi. I nudged Naruto, nodding to the form of Haku. He made a few shadow clones, one of them going to get water, while the other untied Haku. I raised an eyebrow. That was pretty smart of him, making clones to do it, while we focused on Gato and his army. I honestly hadn't thought he would do that, but it just showed even more so how he had matured since the academy days.

Haku was awoken by the clone dumping water on him, and he lurched up, eyes wide as he looked around. He seemed to grasp the situation pretty quickly. Zabuza glaring at the army of mercenaries was a good enough clue that something wasn't right.

"Naruto, make clones to protect Tazuna," ordered Kakashi, Naruto complying with a few pops of smoke. His clones made a circle formation around our client, kunai drawn. "We'll need everyone for this."

"Give me a kunai," said Zabuza, suddenly. I frowned, looking at his arms. The dogs had made them useless, his sword on the ground. Haku took a breath in, eyes wide.

"You won't live," Kakashi said, looking at Zabuza, who chuckled.

"I'm dead anyway."

Haku made a strangled noise, stepping forward.

"Zabuza-sama!" he said, looking at the man with pleading eyes. Zabuza looked right at him, his eyes tight. I was familiar with that look, though I couldn't place it. It triggered something in my memory, but I just couldn't remember.

"Kakashi," Zabuza asked, not looking away from Haku. "I hear that Bloodlines are loved in Konoha. Can you take Haku with you?"

"Zabuza-" Haku said again, rushing forward, but Kakashi grabbed his shoulder, looking right into Zabuza's eyes.

"We will."

A kunai was tossed to him, and he caught it in his teeth, before he ran right at the mercenaries. He moved like lightning, slashing forward with his head. A mercenary went down, gutted from that first line of attack. Zabuza ducked a swing from a tanto, jumping over another lunge, moving swiftly. He moved like a dancer, even with his arms disabled. He danced his dance, spinning, jumping, cutting, slicing, decapitating. But, this wasn't like his earlier dance.

This was his last dance, and he was giving it his all. He was more fluid, despite the arms. He never missed a beat, moving smoothly through his finale fight, determination written on his face.

"Let me go!" Haku yelled, straining. Kakashi did not move, his eyes resting on the carnage.

"He wants this," was the only thing Kakashi said. Zabuza ducked a swing, slashing forward with his head, gutting another man. He had a clear shot to Gato, and moved right towards him.

"Why don't you just die!" Gato screamed, as Zabuza came closer, and closer.

"Because I need to take you with me, to _Hell_!" Zabuza sliced right through Gato's neck, the head of the man flying away. He collapsed into a pile, unable to move because of his injuries.

"Hey! He killed our meal ticket!" a mercenary called out, turning to glare at Zabuza's body. He stormed up, and dragged back his foot, but he didn't manage to bring it back down. Senbon pierced his body, causing him to fall. Haku had been released, and his eyes were ice, as he held senbon between his fingers.

There was silence, as we simply stood there, four shinobi against an army, then we moved. Haku used his abilities to their fullest, while I used my bo to crush heads, shatter bones, and to actually snap a man's neck, ignoring the twist in my stomach as I hit his head hard enough for his head to snap back at an awkward angle.

I felt really sick after that, but I pressed on. Adrenaline burned through me and the heat of battle just didn't allow me to dwell on such moral things.

It was kill or be killed.

-0-

Naruto moved fast, making clones and driving them forward. He looked over towards Kyoko, as she moved, slammed her staff into a man's face, driving him down, and then using his body as a launch pad.

_You really need to learn to keep an eye on people other than yourselves. I could have been an enemy, and you two left yourselves wide open for attack._ A mercenary caught his arm, slicing it, just as he twirled, taking out one of his clones . He hid a wince. No more watching the others, it was time to focus on the fight in front of him.

He ducked a tanto, drawing a kunai and slicing with it, aiming for the artery in the mercenary's leg, remembering Kyoko ramble about the major places to hit on a human body. She often rambled on about her medical lessons. He sliced right into the artery, forcing the mercenary to go down onto one leg, the perfect height for him to make his move.

The academy had always taught them to go for vital spots, to go for the kill.

They taught them to go for the throat, which is what he did.

Naruto sliced through the throat of the mercenary without thinking, killing him in one stroke, before he teamed up with his clones, slamming into another man all at once. Their kunai sunk in, hitting his heart, before Naruto was off again, stealing a move he'd seen Kyoko use. A spin trick, used with his clones, to throw kunai all around him, piercing the mercenaries.

He didn't stop to think, he just moved, using what they had been drilled in the academy. One of the very first rules taught was to always kill your opponent, unless you needed a hostage. Haku would have been a hostage, but he was to useful to them right now, using senbon and his mirrors as his primary weapons.

Naruto cut through the army, just like his comrades where doing, sending a few clones back to Tazuna whenever he realized one popped. He killed without throught, using his skills to the fullest, glad that he had often participated in free for all's with his team. It wasn't exactly like what he was facing, but it was harder then a normal one on one.

Naruto knew that he was going to feel bad later, for killing these men, but he was focused now.

It was his job to protect the client, to protect Wave.

He was a shinobi, and he would protect everyone.

-0-

I lost my bo to a sword, the man managing to wrench it out of my grip with a twist I made a mental note to try and copy. But I simply switched to regular taijutsu, spinning out, and slamming my foot into the stomach of the mercenary I was fighting. I slammed my fist into his head, full strength, breaking his skull.

A sudden chill made me turn to see Haku step out of a mirror, holding my bo, which I accepted. He then used me as a base to jump, throwing a rain of senbon down on the mercenaries.

I slammed my bo down, trying to hit a mercenary. He blocked it, though, with a club he carried before he kicked out at me, but I jumped over that, landing a bit backwards. Before I could rush him, he went down, a crossbow bolt in his forehead. I turned my head to see none other then Inari leading the villagers, armed with whatever they could carry. It was the true turning point, when the battle turned to our favor.

We moved quick, killing as many as we could. I ended up teaming up with Haku a few more times, using him as a launch pad to slam my feet into a mercenary or letting him use my bo as his own launch pad. Naruto and I teamed up much the same way, though it was more of three clones in a row using me as a launch point, then the real Naruto used me as a launch pad in the same minute. I managed to land on two clones doing a flip, jumping off them to bring my foot down hard on a sword wielders head before he could get a woman using a shovel as a club.

The remaining mercenaries smartened up and ran after a while, leaving us along with the battered villagers. As they cheered, Haku ran towards the form of Zabuza, tears pooling in his eyes.

"Zabuza-sama!" he cried out, dropping to his knees beside the fallen form of his teacher.

"Haku..." muttered Zabuza, looking unnaturally pale. He didn't have long left. He looked right into Haku's eyes. As I stared into Zabuza's eyes, it was then that I recognized the look he bore.

Because it was the same look I had seen in myself so many times before with my sweet daughter. It was the very same look I had glanced at in the rearview mirror when I threw myself in front of her in the crash. It was the look of a desperate parent, wanting and willing to give up anything and everything to protect their child. My throat tightened and I had to will myself to breath steadily.

On the surface they were master and student, shinobi and tool. But beneath that, beneath that shallow surface they were father and son. Whether they realized it or not. Zabuza was willing to go so far for Haku, just as I was for Maya. Just as... Just as Gai would do for Lee or even myself.

The look he bore was not something a shinobi would give to his tool. Maybe not even a master to their student. It was a look reserved for family, for someone you hold dearest to you.

"Zabuza-sama, I failed you." Haku sobbed. Tears poured down his face, and he bowed his head, looking down over the dying man. Zabuza just coughed, reaching up to cup Haku's face with the last of his strength.

"Take Kubikiribōchō. Learn to use it well."

"Zabuza," whispered Haku, clutching at Zabuza's hand as it began to snow. I looked up, seeing the sky open and the flakes fall. I closed my eyes, refusing to see the scene anymore. It just somehow seemed to private to watch.

"What's going on?" croaked a voice. I turned to see Sasuke sitting up, looking confused. I wasn't sure who got there first, me or Naruto, but we both wrapped our arms around Sasuke. I felt hot tears sting in the corners of my eyes. I had known he was alive, but it was one thing to know it, another to see it.

I let go, and slapped him right across the face. "Don't you fucking ever let me worry like that again!"

I then wrapped my arms around him once more, squeezing tight, as Naruto delivered his own hit and hugged him again.

"You were that worried?" asked Sasuke, sounding confused. I snorted, adjusting my arms so I held both him and Naruto.

"You're my boys. I'll always worry about you. You're my precious people." I hugged them, my eyes shut twice, as I thought.

Sasuke and Naruto were my teammates, but they were more then that. I looked out for them, scolded them when needed, even forced them to eat healthy if I heard they weren't. I encouraged them, trained with them, grew with them.

I wasn't sure what I felt for them. I saw them as my own sons, but at the same time, I looked at them and saw my comrades, my friends, my brothers. I saw two boys who would grow up to be strong, and I saw the people who I could rely on, no matter what. I saw two boys who would join Gai, Lee and Shino in chasing off boys when I started dating again, who would tell me when I was being stupid, when I was being pushy, when I should take a break. I saw two of my most precious people in my life.

I wasn't sure how I felt about them, nor did I have a name for what they were to me, not really. As Sasuke actually began to hug back, shaking, I decided that I didn't need a name for what they were.

They were my boys, that's all that really needed to be said about them.

-0-

Zabuza's funeral only had us and Haku attend. No one else bothered, as they still slightly resented Zabuza, even though he was a hero. As a favor to Haku, we burned the body of Zabuza, so none of Kiri's secrets could be known.

As we stood in front of the pyre, I watched as the tears came back to Haku, standing there with the zantanabo on his back, the large weapon seeming to dwarf him. I watched as Kakashi walked up to him, holding his shoulder for a moment.

"The death of a shinobi marks many," Kakashi said, watching the fire burn. "To some, it marks the death of an enemy, to others, the death of a precious person."

Kakashi then left, sparring us only the briefest of glances.

"You weren't a tool," Naruto said, suddenly, as we watched the pyre. "He cared for you more then you know."

"When we had you knocked unconscious he was there, trying to kill us to save you," I said, keeping my eyes away from Haku. "If you were only a tool, he wouldn't have cared."

Sasuke didn't speak, he just stood there, as the smell of burning flesh burned our noses.

"Thank you," Haku said, softly once Zabuza's corpse was gone. "I... thank you."

Naruto gave him a half hug, as Haku used a jutsu to scatter the ashes, the secrets of Zabuza would remain secrets.

The life of a shinobi was short, and once it was done, it was done. All files were purged, personal affects were destroyed, and pictures were burned. The only thing proving that a shinobi once existed was the memory people carried of them, the legends they left behind.

Zabuza was a great man, despite his faults, and it was this memory of him we would carry in our hearts and in our minds. The memory of a man who loved his son, who died as a shinobi.

The memory of a man who died a hero.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it! We're going to have a few characterization chapters, then the chunnin exams!

It'll get real interesting then.

Also, funny thing: We're doing a puppet show for our drama class, and the first thought in my head was: "How would Sasori react to this?" No joke. I thought that, and couldn't keep a straight face the entire time.

So now, me and my friends are trying to make a Sasori puppet. And failing, miserably.

Review please!


	21. Chapter 20

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

We spent the time we had left between variations of training and just being lazy. Haku joined us in our training, though; he was light years ahead of us. So, we mostly (painfully) practiced our dodging with him.

Inari often followed us around, his eyes full of hero worship for Naruto, much to my amusement. The irony was definitely not lost on me. The little twerp was behaving just like a duckling would for its mother.

Sasuke and I teased Naruto fiercely for it, I called him Mama-Duck, and Sasuke just mocked him. I even named Inari duckling, and Tsunami joined right in with the teasing then. Tazuna and Kakashi just watched, amused, while Haku remained relatively indifferent—though he did hold a sadder air around him.

"You really miss him, huh?" I asked, one night while we were up, keeping watch.

"Yes," Haku answered, leaning against the wall. "He was... he was my father."

"I'm not going to pretend I know what you're going through. My parents died when I was a baby, and I have my brother, Tou-san and Koemi-sensei. I haven't lost any loved ones yet," I said, sitting on the railing of the roof. "But... I heard that it's good to… talk…?"

I felt really, really awkward and uncomfortable offering that out to Haku. But Haku either didn't notice or care, because he nodded his head.

"The first time he ever taught me how to use a sword, I managed to hit myself in the head, as well as break it."

I spluttered a laugh at that, to which Haku replied with a small bitter-sweet smile. It wasn't long until I was able to drag out more stories from him. He didn't really seem resistant to my prying, actually. If anything, he seemed to almost _welcome_ it.

"So then, Zabuza-sama simply flipped the table over, grabbed the man by the coat, and threw him into the wall," Haku laughed, my own giggles joining him.

"Over a simple mispronunciation of his name?"

"He was drunk."

We cackled over the tale, before I told the tale of Lee's Drunken Fist, which led to more laughter.

It was extremely late by the time our voice cracked—signifying our tale-telling would come to a temporary halt. I was surprised by how fast time had flown by, but was pleased by it as well. Haku really wasn't such a bad person and I was glad we had this chance to talk. I'd like to think that, maybe, I even helped him out a bit.

Since then we made it a point to talk every time we ended up on watch, just sharing stories. Naruto came up, with Inari, a few times to listen. He even added a few of his own stories about the pranks he did. I wasn't sure, but I was fairly certain Sasuke listened in on our conversations too, though he never showed himself. Kakashi made no secret that he listened in, but he also never joined in.

During the day, Naruto and Haku got closer, as they spoke frequently to one another, Naruto harping on about the greatness of Konoha, and how amazing it was, with Haku listening in with wide eyes. I lost count how many times Naruto ranted about Ichiraku.

Ever still, the rest of our time spent in Wave wasn't… bad. No, no, definitely not bad. It was… fun. Nice.

We left about two weeks after the battle, Tazuna and his family was there to see us off, sad smiles on their faces.

"Hey, it's okay to cry when you're happy!" Naruto assured Inari, as the boy held back tears. I rolled my eyes, adjusting my bo and pack. Haku stood with us, the large sword Zabuza once wielded strapped across his back, his belongings sealed away in a scroll. In his arms he carried the rabbit Naruto nearly killed the first day, petting it absently.

"You first," Inari mumbled. Naruto chuckled, and turned away.

"Maybe later."

But I could see that the two of them were sobbing already. My lips twitched in wry amusement.

With a final goodbye, we turned on our heels and began to head away from Wave.

We ran towards home.

-0-

We reached Konoha two days after we left Wave. The first thing we did was go straight to the Hokage, and present our report. He listened the entire time, not giving away any of his thoughts or opinions, as we explained everything. Haku had stood motionless through the entire thing, face blank, even as we spoke of Zabuza's death.

"Well, that is quite a tale," the Hokage said, puffing at his pipe. "Well, Haku-san, you wish to join Konoha?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. If it is anything like Kyoko-chan and Naruto-kun described, I would be honored to join," Haku said, his tone formal and his posture giving off nothing but respect. The Hokage nodded, as he made a motion with his hand, a bird masked ANBU appeared.

"Take him to T&I, just simple questioning," the Hokage ordered. Haku left willingly, while Naruto scowled.

"But he isn't a danger!" he protested.

"Maa, maa, it's common procedure to question all those applying for citizenship. He won't be hurt, I promise," Kakashi replied absently, reading his book. Naruto still didn't look pleased, but he didn't object too much either. After a moment or two of silence, Kakashi and the Hokage sent us out for them to discuss privately.

"Naruto, there _are_ seals out there that force people to be spies," I pointed out, as we walked out of the tower. "Remember Iruka-sensei talking about it? There was some shinobi with one on her, and she was killed by her own teammate because there was no other choice."

"Yeah, but it's Haku!" Naruto whined.

"Listen to Kyoko, Dobe. She's right," Sasuke said, snorting at Naruto's glare.

"Teme!"

I left then, ignoring the fight as I hurried home, an anxious smile on my face. It had been almost two months since I saw my family, and I had desperately missed them. Reaching my apartment building, I climbed in through Koemi's window, surprised to see her there, and not at the T&I department.

"Koemi-sensei!" I cried out, making her jump. The moment she realized who I was, though, she grinned widely.

"Hey gaki! How was your mission?" she asked, not bothering to get off the couch. I walked over and plopped down beside her, grinning happily when she ruffled my hair.

"It was an experience." I went on to give a run through of what had happened, not bothering to keep away any details; Koemi knew how dangerous a shinobi's life was, and the Hokage hadn't classified the mission, so I was free to speak.

Koemi simply listened to me, not interjecting often, just sat there, patting my head. When I was done, she sighed, rubbing her face.

"First kills are the hardest," she said, eyes darkened with memories. "I killed in war, but... you never forget it, never, the feeling of killing someone for the first time."

She gave a pregnant pause, resorting her own emotions and thoughts before she turned and ruffled my hair again, grinning. "The rest of the mission was interesting, huh? Battling an S-Rank, and coming home with his apprentice? Not many Genin can say they did that."

"Yeah, so anything exciting happen while I was gone? Did Lee finally beat Neji?" I asked. Koemi snorted, rolling her eyes.

"With the way you talk about him, I'm starting to wonder if you like him."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste.

"Not funny. But come on, something must have happened!"

Koemi smiled, looking at me.

"I'm pregnant." I froze, eyes wide, unbelieving. Koemi... was pregnant?

"Kami... Congratulations!" I threw my arms around Koemi, hugging her, though I made sure to miss her stomach. I felt a stab of sadness, and jealously at the thought of Koemi having kids, but I shoved it away. I was thirteen, and I had my future ahead of me, plenty of time to have kids later.

"It's triplets as well."

I inwardly winced. Being pregnant had not been fun. Seriously, it was outrageously uncomfortable having a baby play kickball with your bladder. Not to mention the back pains, how awkward it was trying to sit and stand up… urk. That was just with Maya—_one _baby. I was no longer jealous of her, in fact, I _really_ pitied her.

"Hey, are they okay? With all your medical issues and the such?" I asked. Koemi sighed, pinching her nose.

"Too early to tell... the medic tells me that there is a forty percent chance of one baby having no problems."

"And all three?" I asked.

"One percent," Koemi answer, looking exhausted, and much older than her twenty-five years. I hugged her again, curling up into her side. For a while the two of us stayed there, us just cuddling.

Gai and Lee came home a few hours later, though, loudly crying out in joy at seeing me, which led to another tale, in which Lee proclaimed several times how un-youthful Gato was, and Gai actually looked intimidating. It was mostly around me talking about what Gato was doing to Wave, and it was one of the few times I saw exactly why he was called the 'Beast'.

His eyes darkened, and he clenched his teeth, his eyebrows furrowing as he muttered under his breath. His knuckles whitened and I head him dislocate his thumb during the time I spoke of how Gato planned on killing Zabuza, even though they had made a deal.

Most people thought Gai was an idiot, but they didn't know that Gai actually had a higher body count then Kakashi. He was only ever sent on missions when the only option was to kill. Kakashi had done spy work, and front line combat, but Gai had the fourth highest body count in Konoha, the Sannin being the only three beating him. He was called the Green Beast, because he was in fact, a brutal beast on the battlefield. Only Tsunade was above him in taijutsu, and that was because of her strength. If she didn't have that, I wouldn't doubt that Gai would be seen as the best taijutsu master in _all_ of the nations.

_If he had been there..._my mind thought, as I finished the tale. It would have been a massacre of the mercenaries. Gai would have killed them all without blinking, without pausing, without consideration.

"When this Haku-san is finished being interrogated, we must meet him!" Lee declared, smiling. Gai nodded, flashing his grin, all hints of the Beast gone.

"YOSH! He sounds truly youthful!"

I laughed, as a knock sounded at the door. Koemi got up to answer it, slapping Gai upside the head when he tried to stop her.

"I'm only three bloody months pregnant," she grumbled, opening the door to reveal ANBU.

"Hawk-san, Tiger-San?" asked Koemi.

"We are here to escort Rock Kyoko to T&I," said the Hawk. I froze, staring at them.

"On what charges?" Gai demanded, standing up, Koemi glaring at them.

"She needs to come with us," the ANBU said firmly. I took off my bad, and my belt/sash, leaving my bo on it, carrying weapons into the interrogation department would be stupid. Gai and Koemi continued trying to get information out of the ANBU, but they wouldn't budge. I wasn't sure why they wanted me, but it was better safe than sorry.

"I'll go," I said, interrupting Gai. Tiger grabbed me before Gai or Koemi could protest, transporting me in a whirl of leaves.

I found myself in a small room, where a man I'd only seen a few times was; Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's dad. He nodded to Tiger, before he smiled at me, gently.

"Don't worry Kyoko-chan, I won't hurt you. We just want to learn about you a bit."

_Kakashi told them his suspicions. _I realized, as I sat down at a small table in the room. I bit my lip, feeling betrayed. I knew that I acted too mature for my eyes, but weren't there prodigies? Damn it! They couldn't actually think…? Kakashi couldn't _actually _think…?

I suppressed the ice cold fury that washed over me. I was betrayed before. Betrayed _so many_ time sbefore. I hated it. I _hated_ it. It was… horrible. I hated it. I hated it _so much_. And the fact that it happened again… by someone I trusted… again…

_Weren't those who abandoned their teammates worse than trash?_

_Hypocrite._

It took every ounce of my willpower but to allow a single expression of my anger to show. It took that, and so much more to swallow that anger. Being angry would make me irrational in this situation.

_Even if being angry was so much better than being sad._

I took a deep breath, ignoring the hurt emotions inside of me, and exhaled slowly.

"Kyoko-san, we aren't being mean. We're just trying to see if there could be a seal on you," Inoichi said, as he sat down, Tiger disappearing.

_Was Kakashi's teammate the one with the seal?_

Even if it was, that didn't really change so much. Not my emotions anyway. Emotions were funny that way.

"Now, Kyoko-chan." Inoichi smiled at me, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Let's chat."

* * *

Done! Hope you enjoyed it, and don't kill me for the cliff hanger.

All will be explained, don't worry. I have my reasons why they pulled her in, it's part of my plan for the next few chapters. *mwahahaha*

Alright, a quick word: I'm nearing my diploma exams, so I don't have enough time to update every two weeks. I'm going to try for three, but life in general is also against me.

Review Please!


	22. Chapter 21

**Title:** Konoha's Beautiful lotus

**Summary:** Life as a ninja was supposed to be exciting, and fun, not terrifying and dangerous. I should have paid attention to the anime more... SI OC

**Beta: Darkpetal16**

* * *

Sitting across from Inoichi was nerve wracking, as he simply watched me. I remembered from old TV shows, the whole interrogation cliché, but this wasn't like those shows. This, this was real. The whole set up made me feel horrendously anxious, and it didn't help that I still felt the sting of betrayal.

"Kyoko-chan, do you actually know why you're here?" he asked me.

"Kakashi-sensei told you he was suspicious," I replied evenly, pleased with myself I had managed to reign in my emotions long enough to make the statement. He nodded, his eyes unreadable.

"How do you know it was him?"

"Who else could it be?" He nodded again, and simply watched me. When it was clear he wouldn't say anything more, I continued, "You've had prodigies before, why bother with me, I'm not that smart, compared to some."

"Uchiha Itachi was our last prodigy," answered Inoichi dryly. "You'd have to excuse our caution."

"Makes sense then." I said, looking towards the mirror. I was fairly certain it was two way, but I could have just been paranoid.

"Kyoko-chan, are you hiding something?" Inoichi asked. I turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes.

I had a choice, lie, get caught, and inevitably be locked up. They'd try and yank everything out of my head, _everything_. In the process they would inevitably discover the truth—their _future_. It was too risky if they did that, who knows where that information could end up. I knew, instinctually, that Konoha had spies within. I didn't like it, but I _knew_ not everyone in Konoha's ranks was safe and trustworthy. I couldn't risk them coming into contact with the information I carried. I couldn't risk putting the lives I had come to love at risk in the process.

I could tell the truth, but it was the same thing. I'd get turned into a weapon, locked up and my memories ripped from me. This was a shinobi village, and power was everything to a shinobi. No real life, and I would be ripped away from my family.

Or... tell a half truth. I could tell one truth, but hide another. I could tell him I was older then I appeared, but say nothing about the fact my old world had his in it, in the form of a book.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I remarked, smiling sardonically.

"Try me," Inoichi said, smirking at me. With that, I began to talk.

I told him about growing up raising my siblings, about breaking under the stress of being the oldest, about being forced to be responsible...

I spoke of my mother kicking me out after I learned I was pregnant, of living in a halfway house for years until my brother convinced her to let me back...

I spoke of Maya, and my love for her. I spoke of her and my dreams for her, the hope she wouldn't end up like me; that she would make something of herself, something better than I could have ever hoped for...

"I was driving home when it happened… the accident. I tried to protect her, and that's my last memory. I shielded her from the other car..." I said, looking down at my hands. "I... I... I woke up in an infant's body. And well, this life began."

"... You're right, I don't really believe you," Inoichi said bluntly, leaning backwards. I snorted, unsurprised. "But... I would like to see a few memories, if you wish. No one can lie in their minds, I'll know if you do so."

I looked at him, and then looked towards the mirror. If I said yes... then everything would change. Everything. They would know that I really wasn't from this world. Was it something I wanted? Was it?

It wasn't, not really, but I knew I actually didn't have a choice. He was going to do it one way of the other, and I could go along with it, and make it easier, or I could resist and make it painful. And hopefully, if I brought forth the memories he requested and cooperated, he wouldn't feel the need to dive into more… _sensitive_ memories.

If I cooperated and placed just a _smidgeon_ of trust in him…

"Go ahead," I said. Inoichi nodded, and his hands moved, flashing through symbols swiftly...

My mindscape... mind palace? Mind place? Mind... thingamabob? Whatever it was, it was interesting. It was in the shape of a forest, with thousands upon thousands of trees and bugs all over the place. I was a little distracted by the appearance, and it took pointed coughing from Inoichi to make me turn towards him.

"Sorry," I said, blushing sheepishly. He shrugged.

"First times are always the more interesting ones," Inoichi said, as he looked around. "I believe the... bugs contain your memories... or maybe the trees."

I shrugged, and reached out to touch a butterfly, as Inoichi watched.

The scene shifted as the butterfly dissolved away into a haze of blue and black. We no longer stood in a forest, but above a fragmented memory. I watched the vivid scene unroll before me, my eyes widening as I did so.

_"Get out!" Mom yelled at me, pointing to the door. "I will not have you in this house."_

_"Mom-" I begged her._

_"GET OUT! I WILL NOT HAVE A SLUT IN THIS HOUSE!" She shrieked, she gripped her hairbrush tightly in her hands before hurtling it towards me. I narrowly dodged it, panic bubbling inside of me. Words were caught in my throat and I was forced to back down._

_I shook my head and ran towards my room, throwing as many things as I could into a bag and begging myself not to start crying. She hated it when I cried, and I did, too. At that moment, I refused to show weakness in front of my own—my own—Mommy._

_Grabbing my pack I hurried out of the house, ignoring the screams out outrage and curses of utter disdain behind me. I ignored everything, my body going numb as I got in my car and began to drive. I wasn't sure how long I drove, I just drove and drove until my body no longer felt so numb and my eyes started stinging and my vision blurred. I pulled over on the highway, parked my car and rested my forehead on my steering wheel._

_"Why, why, why..." I whispered softly. "Why do you hate me so much? Mommy… Why?"_

I ripped my hand away, shaking._ I really, really didn't want to remember that... _I thought. Inoichi stared at it.

"You really are a reincarnation," he remarked, tilting his head. "Or at least you seem to be." He looked around, and pointed to another bug, a pine beetle. "Let's see that one, shall we?" I watched as he poked it with a finger, and the world changed...

_I was staring at Maya's father, holding my baby in my arms..._

_"Please, Doll."_

_"Fuck off, you have no right to be here, you son of a bitch," I snarled. He glared at me._

_"She's my daughter, too."_

_"And where have you been for the past year then, you gutter slime?"_

_"Please… Kelly?" he begged, and I melted, unable to say no to him._

_"Fine."_

It continued, touching the different memories, each scene showing technology, or Maya, though luckily never her watching Naruto. I had on near mishap, her cuddling with the fox plushie, but I used a half truth when asked.

"Oh, it's from show thing she watched. It's one of the main character's animal companions." I shrugged, knowing I was telling the truth, in a round about way. "Don't know much, I mostly studied."

"It looks like the Kyūbi," murmured Inoichi. I shrugged, nervous a bit, though luckily it didn't show.

"It's a fox with nine tails, and named... Kur-something. I have no clue other than that…" _about its name and origins, at least…_

We finally stopped looking after we touched a small white moth...

_I looked ahead, eyes wide and terrified, then looked up into the rear-view mirror, looking straight at a confused Maya. I watched as my past self ripped her seat-belt off, and threw herself back to her daughter, wrapped her into and embrace, forcing the girls head down. I watched as the car came and smashed into my car, my body snapping forward, as my daughter's head was smashed into my upper rib cage. Blood trickled down my lips, as I coughed. I heard Maya scream, as my eyes closed, for the last time..._

_Until they reopened, as a newborn._

I was suddenly back in the interrogation room, looking at Inoichi, who looked at me with a less indifferent face. I'd like to imagine there was a sympathetic tone in his voice and glint in his eyes. He was, after all, a parent as well and more than likely could understand my last minute desire to save Maya.

"Your daughter was beautiful."

"Thank you," I replied, giving a small, watery smile. "She was the most important thing to me."

I swallowed roughly, ignoring the sting in my eyes and the way my heart clenched as once again I pictured my perfect little angle.

"You have no wish to betray Konoha?" It sounded more like a statement then a question, but I answered anyway.

"The only way someone could have had me betray Konoha when I was younger, was if they had offered to send me home, but it's been thirteen years. My baby is twenty-four now, she isn't my Maya."

I bit my bottom lip, feeling the red hot pain at that statement. She wasn't, not any more. She was a stranger now, she grew up and I was going through the process all over again. "I have Lee, Gai, Koemi, Shino, Anko, Sasuke and Naruto. Even Ino and Sakura I still care about. I would lay down my life for them, I would die for them. So long as they are loyal, I am loyal."

"What of Kakashi?"

I snorted disdainfully, once again feeling the rising sting at the mere mention of his name.

"He betrayed me. He may have been doing the right thing, but I don't take betrayal lightly. My... old mother, Micheal, they both betrayed me in more ways than most can imagine. My so called friends... they all just broke me. Can I forgive? Maybe. But it will take years for me to be able to do so," I muttered.

"Even if he was just scared for you?"

I chuckled, a rush of bitterness surging through me, shaking my head.

"One of my friends was scared for me, and she left me there to rot. I never forgave her," I replied, looking away from him. Inoichi left, leaving me alone in the cell, one thought in my head:

_Would they tell my family? Did I want them to?_

-0-

Sarutobi hadn't actually believed in Kakashi's worries. The man had come forward with them because he feared for the girl who he loved like a niece, or maybe a daughter. He worried the pressure of being smart would make her crack like Itachi had, and cited that they kept an eye on Neji and Sasuke, who were both geniuses, as proof that she should be watched.

Sarutobi couldn't tell Kakashi the truth behind Itachi's betrayal, nor could he say the only reason they even kept an eye on Sasuke and Neji because both showed signs that they had a loose grip on sanity, and Kyoko showed a completely level head her entire life. So, he had agreed, letting Inoichi take the wheel here, because she had once been friends with his daughter, and he would be gentle. And really, Sarutobi wasn't all that concerned and had faith in Kyoko. Really, it was just going through procedures to assuage the old ANBU Captain of his worries, nothing was meant to really be discovered.

"Anything to report, Inoichi?" asked Sarutobi, when the ninja came in.

"Hokage-sama, I have a lot to report," said the ninja blankly, before he started to read out loud from the file he carried. Sarutobi stared at him, as he listed each and everything she said, and showed the Hokage the memories he had gathered.

Sarutobi repressed a long and tiring sigh.

_It was _just _supposed to be standard… How in the hell did he uncover… Why in the… Is it too late to retire…?_

Sarutobi just shook his head. "… Alright. You are dismissed Inoichi, I believe it is time I paid the gi—woman a visit myself."

**Omake:**

A young girl sat in a wheelchair, sighing as she tapped her fingers onto the handle. She was fairly annoyed, as she checked her watch. Where was-

A hand grabbing her shoulder made her yelp, and twirl her head around to face a widely grinning girl.

"Maya! Don't do that." Maya laughed soundlessly at her friend, as the two walked towards the meeting place. "How was your biology class?"

_"Good. I had fun with genetics again,"_ signed Maya, as they reached the place. On the wall was a large sign, saying 'MADD- Mothers Against Drunk Drivers'.

"So, finally decided on being a geneticist?" asked the wheelchair bound girl. Maya shrugged.

"_I want to follow Mum into the field of science, but bugs are not my forte, Jenny."_

Jenny chuckled, as she wheeled herself into the building, Maya following behind her with a smile.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Omake was done on the request of a reviewer, so hope you like it! And my computer is fixed! Yay!

No real comments, other then the reason Maya can't talk anymore is because she had brain damage from her head hitting her mother's rib cage.

Review please!


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